Worth It
by Gazlover12-Canada
Summary: Alfred and Ivan are foster parents to three rambunctious but lovable children, Arthur, Francis, and their newest addition Toris. Things can get a little crazy, but it's totally worth it. However, what happens when they are asked to take in one more child? Rusame AU COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**_Intro:_**

Alfred F. Jones sometimes couldn't believe how his life had turned out. Ten years ago he probably would have said that he was going to be an astronaut, or a government agent. Never in his dreams would he have imagined himself marrying, settling down, and becoming a parent/foster parent only at the age of 20.

He didn't regret his life one bit though. Each day was filled with adventure and fun, because what else would happen when you were the chosen parent of three rambunctious but insanely adorable kids?

Matthew had been the one to inspire them. You see, one day he had broke the news to his brother that starting the next day, he and his partner Gilbert would be fostering a child. Alfred had been a little shocked. Matthew seemed like maybe the parent type, but Gilbert? He wasn't even under the impression that the albino liked children! So of course he had disapproved of the idea.

However, upon meeting the the little kid that was now a part of Matthew and Gilbert's home, Alfred had felt his heart swell. The child was a little blonde German, which really had made Gilbert happy. He was well mannered and almost too mature for his age, but very cute. Matthew and Gilbert had fallen in love with their new charge, and Alfred had felt a pang of jealously.

Which was why he suggested to Ivan that they should become foster parents.

He remembered that day clearly. As soon as the words had spilled from his mouth, the large Russian man had spit out his vodka and started coughing from shock. "Alfred, you do realize that being foster parents requires a lot of work, time, and patience da?" He had pointed out.

Oh but Alfred was persistent. He could already see it in his mind; He and Ivan being the best doting and loving parents a kid could ever ask for! They would take in all the lonely needy and children and provide them with warm beds and hot meals. It would be just perfect! Little did Alfred know, Ivan had been right. It certainly took a lot of work. it did however, pay off.

Alfred and Ivan had signed up for the same program that Matthew and Gilbert had. **Hetalia International Children's Foster Care. **It worked slightly different than normal fostering programs. For one, you mostly got children from all around the world. Secondly, they stayed with you a lot longer than normal foster children did. It was almost technically like adopting, except every once in awhile your assigned social worker would check up and make sure that everything was working out.

Alfred and Ivan's assigned Social Worker was Kiku Honda. He was the one who picked out which kids they should care for, and visited every six months. Ivan had been a little concerned at first, mainly financially wise. After all, he himself only worked as an accountant, and Alfred worked as a Middle School gym teacher three days a week. They weren't exactly full with enough cash to care for children. Luckily the program funded more than enough money to care for each and every child.

It was settled, and since that day, Ivan and Alfred were officially foster parents.

_**Chapter 1: Crazy but worth it  
**_

"More juice!"

"What do you say Artie?"

"More juice please?"

"Of course. Here you go kiddo," Alfred said cheerfully, taking Arthur's sippy cup from him and filling it with more apple juice. It was weird, the three year old had a distaste for pretty much everything apple related except for the juice. Hopefully he would outgrow it, because in Alfred's opinion the little guy was really missing out.

"I'm finished with my lunch, please can I be excused?" Francis, another one of their kids, asked from his seat at the table. Alfred did a quick scan of his plate and frowned.

"But you barely touched your mac and cheese dude! Aren't you hungry?"

"Non. I don't like it today!" The little French boy told him. Alfred sighed to himself. Francis was going through a terrible phase currently. He changed his appetite daily. One night he would hate something, then the next day it would be his favorite meal. It was really bothersome sometimes, but Alfred supposed that it was hopefully going to be a quick phase.

"Alright, but you can't have any snacks till dinner." Alfred told him. Francis nodded in agreement before scooting out of his chair and running back out to the living room to the television. The older American shook his head but grabbed Francis's bowl from the table and started scraping it's contents into the trash can.

"Uh-oh! I made a mess!" Arthur spoke up with a slight giggle. Alfred looked back over and almost cursed out loud. Arthur had opened up his juice cup and spilled it all over his lap and the floor. He really wished that he hadn't taught Arthur how to unscrew the lids of things...

"Yup, you sure did make a mess. Here, sit still while I get a towel." He said, running across the kitchen to retrieve the necessary clean up supplies. He took off the child's soaked pants and wiped at his legs, holding them down when Arthur tied to kick him. Alfred's attention was then drawn to the last child in the room, who had been picking at his food quietly.

"At least you're not like these other two crazy kids, right Toris?" He said, smiling at their newest addition, who had only been a part of the family for almost a month. The little Lithuanian smiled a little, and shook his head. Alfred grinned back. At least they were making some progress with the kid.

Toris seemed most comfortable around Alfred. For some reason he was really nervous and uncomfortable around Ivan. Alfred could tell that it hurt his husband a little, but he didn't show it. Alfred assured him that his big size was probably the reason for Toris's nervousness, and that he would warm up for sure. After all, Toris had been a victim of child abuse, so him being so nervous was to be expected.

So yes, Alfred and Ivan were the foster parents of three children. Their first had been Francis; they had gotten him two years ago when he was four, all the way from Paris, France. He was now a healthy six year old, a little bit snobbish at times, but that was probably because Ivan and Alfred had spoiled him so much when he'd first arrived. Apparently his parents had abandoned him, leaving him in the busy Parisian streets to fend for himself.

A year after getting Francis, Kiku had called and asked if they could take in a two year old from London. Of course Alfred and Ivan had agreed, especially after hearing that the tot had been severely neglected by an alcoholic dad and older brothers. That was how Arthur had came into the family. Now he was three, and as creative and mischievous as ever. He had a number of imaginary friends, and loved anything magic related. Francis often teased him about it, but then again the two children were always at each others throats.

Last but not least, Kiku had sent them Toris, only about thirty days earlier. He was by far the most timid child. That concerned Alfred a little bit. He really wanted to try and get the kid out of his shell. After all, Toris was five, and five year olds should be trying to explore the world, and should fear monsters instead of worrying about being hit.

Hitting was certainly a no-no in their household. Ivan and Alfred would never resort to corporal punishments. Well, sometimes Arthur would get a tap on the butt if he tried smacking or attacking Francis, but never a real spanking. Nope, it would only be a time-out, or alone time in the corner for their kids.

Going back to the present, Alfred had now finished cleaning up the spill and finished throwing away the paper towels. He decided that it was okay to leave Arthur in his underwear and shirt for now, rather than try and find a clean pair of pants for him.

"Okay, go play in the den alright?" He instructed, lifting Arthur down from his kitchen booster seat and setting him down on the floor.

"Okay!" Arthur replied, scampering out of the room to go play. Alfred chuckled, and then noticed that Toris had stopped eating. His bowl was more than half empty, which was satisfying.

"You all finished buddy?" He asked.

"Yes," Toris answered quietly.

"Alrighty then, why don't you go play for a little while?" He suggested. Toris nodded and obediently left his spot at the table, going towards the living room where Francis was. Alfred sighed with relief, at least lunch was finished with. Now came the part of wiping the messy table off, and washing the dishes.

Well, at least it was Sunday. Tomorrow he would only have Arthur and Toris home, since Francis went to school. He was the only one who went out of the three children. Arthur was too young for even preschool, and Toris was definitely not ready for kindergarten yet. He was barely comfortable around just them, so there was no way Alfred and Ivan were sticking him in a loud and noisy school. So yes, Francis, their first grader, was the only one who left during the week.

On Wednesday's, Thursday's, and Friday's though, Arthur and Toris attended a nice little private daycare for four hours a day for when Alfred had to work. The place was nice, with only a few kids, so Toris was okay there most of the time luckily. Because after all, at least Alfred only worked three days a week. Ivan worked a full five days a week. Speaking of Ivan, Alfred noticed him pulling into the driveway.

His Russian lover had been out completing the weekly grocery shopping. He and Alfred switched off every week. They would have gone together, but there was just no way that they could bring along the kids without risking the whole grocery store being destroyed. Alfred put on his shoes before going out to help bring in the groceries.

"Hi babe, how was it?" He asked, pecking Ivan on the lips as the Russian opened the trunk full of grocery bags.

"Pretty good. They didn't have Francis's favorite pastries though, so we'll have to pick some up after they restock." Ivan answered. "How are the children?"

"Just fine," Alfred told him. "We need to get a move on with laundry though, cause Arthur spilled apple juice all over his pants."

"Ah, how am I not surprised?" Ivan said with a laugh.

The rest of the afternoon was rather boring, with no catastrophes. Alfred worked on laundry while Ivan watched the kids downstairs. Eventually he got started on dinner. Ivan normally made dinner, since Alfred usually covered breakfast and lunch. Tonight was ham and green bean casserole.

"Wow, this is great Ivan! You got the ham just right." Alfred complimented his husband during dinner.

"I don't like it..." Francis said distastefully, pushing the plate away from him.

"Well you had better start liking it young man, especially if you want ice cream later." Ivan told him, but more light heartedly rather than sternly.

"Besides dude, you liked it when we had it two weeks ago." Alfred pointed out while reaching over to wipe a glob of casserole from Arthur's nose.

"How about four more bites, than you can be done. Does that sound like a deal?" Ivan proposed.

"Oui...deal." Francis said, happily eating his dinner. Honestly, sometimes Alfred wondered just what was going on inside that kid's brain.

"I'm done," Arthur announced proudly, shoving his plate towards Alfred so it could be inspected. The plate bumped into Alfred's glass of milk, but luckily the American managed to catch it before it fell over, so only a few droplets of milk sloshed out from the cup.

"Okay Artie, all clear. Go pick out your jammies, cause when I'm done it's bath time." Alfred told him.

"No bath..." Arthur pouted.

"Yes bath. If you're good then I'll read a long story tonight."

"Yes bath," Arthur agreed, running upstairs to his bedroom to pick out his pajamas. Alfred finished the last of his dinner before heading upstairs to get the tub running.

"Alright, let's begin cleanup," Ivan instructed upon seeing that everyone was finished. "Francis, you wipe down the table, and Toris, you put the milk away please. Thank you boys." He felt a little bad when Toris scrambled to put the milk away as fast as he could.  
Once the kitchen was clean, Ivan went upstairs to go get Toris and Francis's pajamas. On the way there he stopped in the kid's bathroom where Arthur was getting his bath. The door was open, and Ivan saw that the floor was soaking wet. Alfred was sitting on the edge of the tub, and he looked just as wet as Arthur was.

"We were having a little splash war..." Alfred said sheepishly when he saw Ivan's look of horror.

"A _little _splash war?" He commented in disbelief. "Ugh, never mind. Hurry up and get him out though, Francis still needs to shower."

"Aye-Aye" Alfred saluted. Ivan nodded and then went off to finish his original task. When he finished finding their pajamas, he returned to the two older boys.

"Here's your pajamas Francis, go take your shower, Arthur should be out by now. Toris, let's go get ready for bed." He said. Toris obediently followed, but Ivan could sense his anxiousness. Usually Alfred was the one to get Toris ready for bed, but tonight dinner had been a bit late so they were off schedule.

Currently Toris shared a bedroom with Francis, but not for long. They had ordered some kids bedroom furniture that was coming soon. Then they were going to turn Ivan's old study into Toris's new bedroom. It would probably be another week or so though.

"Alright, arms up," Ivan instructed softly. Normally a five year old would be able to dress themselves for the most part, but it was different with Toris. He wasn't exactly helpless, but he did require assistance with many daily things. Ivan and Alfred were working with him though, and teaching him to be more independent. It was a little hard though, Toris was so pitiful, and both adults felt the need to coddle him.

He couldn't help but notice that Toris trembled slightly as he dressed him into his pajamas. Suddenly, just after Toris's pants were put on, someone came running through the open doorway. It was Arthur, clad in only a towel which was slipping off with each step.

"Help, the monsters gonna get me!" Arthur squealed, ducking behind Ivan for cover. Down the hall they could hear growling noises that was obviously Alfred.

"Grawwwwr! The jammie monster has arrived!" Alfred said with an obviously fake growl. Arthur once again squealed and tried running, but to no avail. Alfred caught him, tossing the screaming child over his shoulder. Ivan laughed, and then looked down to the other child.

"Would you like to watch a few minutes of Tv before bed, or are you sleepy?" He asked. Toris looked horrified at having to make a decision, and twisted his hands nervously. Ivan felt a little bad, even though he really didn't have a reason to.

"Sleepy..." The little Lithuanian finally muttered. Ivan had a suspicion that he wasn't exactly sleepy and just wanted to avoid him, but did not voice his thoughts.

"Alright then. Would you like for me to tuck you in?" Ivan offered.

"N-no thank you," Toris answered quietly. Ivan had predicted this, and only nodded.

"Okay then, have a goodnight. I'll tell Alfred to come say goodnight as well." He said, and turned on the night light before leaving the room, making sure to leave the door cracked. He walked down the hall, checking up on Francis before heading towards Arthur's room, where he could hear Alfred finishing up a story.

"Father, I want a night-night!" Arthur demanded when he saw Ivan. The Russian beamed; at least one of his kids appreciated him.

"Alright, I'll give you a night-night!" He said, leaning down to give the three year old a sloppy kiss on one of his baby cheeks, and then pulled up his shirt, giving him the biggest raspberry he could. Arthur's cheeks turned red as he squealed and tried to get away. It didn't help the child at all when Alfred joined in on giving him raspberries. Finally both adults stopped when their youngest looked like he was running out of air.

"Okay, go to sleep little one," Ivan said, placing one more kiss on Arthur's nose, Alfred did so as well, and they both watched as Arthur yawned and pulled his stuffed green rabbit 'Minty' close to his chest.

"Toris went to bed early. I think you should probably go tuck him in. I offered to but..." Ivan trailed off awkwardly. Alfred smiled knowingly.

"Okay dude, I'll do that. Don't worry, he seriously will warm up to you eventually. He was nervous around me too. I'm just home with him more often so he's more used to me." He reassured him.

"I hope you're right..." Ivan grumbled a bit.

"Of course I'm right, when haven't I been?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Oh shut up!" Alfred replied, smacking him lightly. "Okay, so I'll see to Toris and why don't you go make sure Francis is all good?"

"Alright," Ivan agreed.

It turned out that Francis was already showered and into his pajamas, finishing up the last of his cartoon.

"Bed time Francis, you have school tomorrow remember?" Ivan said.

"Oui. Can you carry me?" Francis asked.

"How about a piggy back?"

"Yeah!"

Ivan proceeded to piggy back their oldest up to his room. Alfred was still in there with Toris, so they were both able to tuck in Francis. He often was a little difficult to get to bed, but thankfully tonight the French boy was worn out, so he complied easily.

"Whew, I can't believe we got them all tucked in before eight thirty! That's gotta be a new record." Alfred exclaimed once they had made it back to their own bedroom.

"I know, they were surprisingly easy tonight." Ivan agreed, discarding his shirt as he began to change into his own pajamas. Alfred turned on their bedroom TV to the evening news before following Ivan with getting changed.

"I was thinking about taking Artie and Toris to the park tomorrow. The weather's supposed to be nice." Alfred chatted as they both settled back onto the bed. Ivan had an arm around Alfred's shoulder as they both snuggled close under the covers.

"That's a good idea. We only have so long until fall will approach." Ivan agreed.

"Yeah, I can't wait until October. I already have ideas for their costumes...of crap, hold on a sec someone's calling." Alfred said, grabbing his phone from the nightstand. "Oh hey it's Kiku!"

"Kiku dude, what's up?" Alfred answered his phone.

"Hello Alfred-san. I hope I am not calling at a bad time?" The Japanese social worker greeted him.

"Not at all dude. What can I do for you?" Alfred asked.

"Well...I know you've only just gotten Toris, but I was wondering if you and Ivan could possibly take in one more child?"

**Eh, hopefully at least some of you guys liked this. You see, I had one of those moments where I was craving little England, but then I also wanted some parental Russia and America, and then I wanted France into the mix, then Lithuania, and so on, which explains why this happened. But you guys probably get these cravings all the time, right? Right!?**

**And before you all go like, "Kristen, you have other stories to update missy!" just be reassured that I WILL be updating pretty much all my stories soon. I did have some writers block, but now I'm back into the groove of fanfiction.  
**

**Some reviews would be nice(: I just want to see if anyone even liked this. I was just writing it for myself, and then my brother was like, what do you have to lose dude, update it! So here you go!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"What?" Alfred asked after a moment of shock.

"I'm sorry that I'm asking you so suddenly. You see, I just cannot find any other parents that are willing to foster him."

"Oh...um dude, we kind of already got our hands full with these three. Seriously, we're still getting used to having Toris around." Alfred reminded him. Ivan opened his mouth probably to ask what was going on, but Alfred shushed him.

"I do understand Alfred-san. At least let me tell you a little bit about the child though? He's five years old, and from Poland." Kiku told him.

"Five years old, huh? That's the same age as Toris." Alfred mused aloud.

"Yes well, he really needs a family. His names Feliks by the way. His parents died when he was two, so his uncle cared for him. His uncle was murdered though, I'm not sure of all the details but it was bad. The child witnessed the whole thing...and he had no other family." Kiku explained to him.

"Oh god, that's horrible. Look Kiku, as much as I would love to, I'll have to talk things over with Ivan. I mean, life is already busy enough as it is." Alfred said, rubbing the back of his neck a little guiltily.

"Of course, please feel free to think it over. It would be great to give me an answer soon though, because we need to make arrangements for the boy."

"I understand. I'll call back tomorrow night with an answer, okay dude?" Alfred said, before saying goodbye and hanging up. He then turned to Ivan, who had been waiting patiently. Just by listening to Alfred's side of the conversation, Ivan was able to guess what the phone call was about.

"Kiku wants us to take in a new child already?" He asked.

"Yeah dude...a five year old from Poland," Alfred replied, and then proceeded to explain the rest of what Kiku had said to Ivan. When he was finished, Ivan was silent for a moment.

"Alfred, do you really think that we'll be able to handle fostering another child? Arthur and Francis are a lot to handle themselves, and we still need to work with Toris a lot." Ivan pointed out.

"I know dude...but I think we should at least consider it. Just think, there's a little boy out there who needs lots of love and support."

"Alfred, there are many orphaned children who need homes. We cannot say yes to every one of them." Ivan said. "But I do agree, we can consider it."

They left the conversation at that, deciding to make a decision tomorrow night.

* * *

The next day, Alfred was up before six. This really wasn't anything new though. Arthur was a very early riser, and the first thing he did when he woke up was run and make sure his parents were up.

"Francis, leave Arthur's cereal alone!" He scolded upon seeing the six year old ripping up pieces of napkin and dropping them into Arthur's breakfast. Arthur didn't really seem to care though, using his hands to dig into his breakfast and eat the napkin pieces.

Ivan had left for work a few minutes ago, which left Alfred to feed them, and also get Francis on the bus in time. Two out of three times they missed the bus though, because Francis took a lot of time choosing his clothes each day. It was sort of a hassle; he'd try on all sorts of things and them put them in the hamper, despite them being clean.

"Chocolate?" Arthur requested.

"No chocolate," Alfred answered him. "It's too early to get you hyped up on sugar."

"Yes chocolate." Arthur insisted.

"Later," Alfred told him firmly. "Toris, how would you like it if I took you and Artie to the park later?"

"Okay," Toris agreed.

"Yeah, park!" Arthur shouted, flinging his spoon in the air and splattering cheerios all over the table.

"What have I told you about flinging stuff Art?"

This was basically how the rest of breakfast went. Alfred began packing Francis's lunch while the first grader went to go get dressed. Toris was a good boy and brought his bowl to the sink before leaving the room as well, probably to go sit on the couch or something. Alfred always told Toris that he could turn on the TV, but he never touched it.

"Père, which shirt should I wear? The blue or the purple?" Francis asked once Alfred had walked into the bedroom to make sure that he was getting dressed. There were at least three pairs of pants discarded on the floor, and even more shirts. Alfred grinned at his son's words. To Francis, he was Père and Ivan was Papa.

"The blue one dude. Now come on and hurry up, the bus will be here soon."

"Oui, I will." Francis replied.

It turned out that Francis's idea of hurrying up meant taking thirty minutes. It was now seven thirty, the exact time in which the bus normally showed up. Alfred cursed to himself, quickly grabbing Francis's backpack.

"You two be good, I'm taking Francis to the bus." He told Toris and Arthur, who were still in their pajamas sitting on the couch. Francis followed Alfred out the front door. Luckily just as they reached the end of the driveway, the familiar yellow bus arrived.

"Be good, okay kiddo?" Alfred said, kissing the top of his boy's silky locks.

"Oui, I will!" Francis answered, before climbing onto the bus. Alfred waved before going back inside. Arthur had apparently turned on the TV, and he and Toris were watching some little kids show. Arthur was watching the screen intently, thumb in his mouth. Ivan wanted to break Arthur of the habit, but Alfred thought it was adorable.

Suddenly Alfred's phone vibrated. He opened it and saw that it was a message, notifying him that Toris had a doctor's appointment in less than an hour. Alfred groaned, how on earth could he have forgotten? And why didn't ivan remind him this morning!? Dammit, the doctor's office was a thirty minute drive, and both boys weren't even dressed yet.

"Okay buds, we gotta get Toris to the doctors today for a follow up appointment. Toris, let's give you a quick bath before we go, okay?"

Twenty minutes later they were finally all situated in the car. Toris was bathed and dressed neatly, but Alfred decided to let Arthur stay in his pajamas for the trip. After all, it wasn't like the doctor's office was a very formal place. Dr. Elizaveta Héderváry, or Elizaveta for short, was a pediatrician that they had been visiting ever since Alfred and Ivan had became foster parents. It was required that each kid needed a physical at least every six months. Since Toris was new though, and still recovering from former injuries, he needed to see the doc every two weeks.

"We're sick?" Arthur asked for the third time after Alfred had told him that they were going to the doctors.

"No Artie, we aren't sick. Toris just needs to check up from the doctor." Alfred explained once again. "And please stop kicking my seat little dude."

"Are they going to give me a shot?" Toris questioned, remembering the last time he had gone to see the doctor. It had turned out that he had been behind on a lot of immunizations, so his first visit to Doctor Elizaveta hadn't gone very well.

"I'm not sure bud," Alfred answered honestly. "But probably not, since they pretty much got you up to date last visit."

That seemed to have calmed down the little Lithuanian considerably, so it wasn't too difficult to get either boy out of the car. The waiting room wasn't very crowded, so Alfred was able to go up to the check in window right away. He was given some papers to fill out.

"Look Toris, there's a bunch of toys to play with over there. Or you could go with Arthur to look at the fish tank over there. I think I see one that looks like Nemo!" Alfred told him excitedly.

"Nemo!" Arthur squealed. "Come on, let's go see Nemo!"

With that, Arthur grabbed one of the older boy's hands and dragged him over towards the fish tank across the other side of the waiting room. Alfred grinned from his seat before going back to the paperwork. Honestly, why did doctor's offices always have to make you fill out so much paperwork? He'd just done a bunch of Toris's paperwork two weeks ago and already they had more?

"Toris?" A nurse called ten minutes later. Alfred stood up, using one arm to pick up Arthur, and the other one to take Toris's hand as they followed the nurse down the hall and into an examination room, letting them know that the doctor would be with them in a moment. It was quiet for a moment, Alfred sitting down with Arthur on his lap, and Toris sitting down next to him.

"Daddy, can I have juice?" Arthur broke the silence.

"Sure thing Artie," Alfred replied, reaching into his coat pocket to retrieve Arthur's half full sippy cup before handing it to him. Not long after that, the door opened and Dr. Elizaveta came in.

"Hello, hows everyone doing today?" She asked, smiling at the family. Alfred gave her his usual grin.

"Were all doing great Liz, how about yourself? You're looking as lovely as ever I see," Alfred said with a wink. The Hungarian giggled.

"Oh Alfred, you never fail to amuse me. Now how about we focus on our patient. How are you feeling today Toris?" She asked.

"Good," Toris told her.

"That's good then. How about you hop up on the examination table for me sweetie?"

As Toris did so, Alfred was caught off guard by Arthur jumping off of his lap and running over to attempt climbing up on the table as well.

"Hello Arthur honey. I don't think you need a checkup today." Elizaveta told him in amusement.

"I want a sticker too!" Arthur told her, beaming. Oh, that was right. Whenever one of the kids visited a doctor, they were able to pick out any sticker they wanted from a large bin at the front desk on their way out.

"If you're a good boy and come sit on my lap, then you can have a sticker too, right doc?" Alfred asked.

"Of course!" Elizaveta said, and so Arthur hurried back to his daddy. Meanwhile, Elizaveta lifted up the Lithuanian's shirt and began examining the many scars, some of which were not totally healed yet.

"Hmmm," She murmured. "It looks like these are healing up nicely. Just keep giving him the antibiotics for another week or so. And Toris, make sure you try to eat as much as you can of your meals, okay? I would like it if you could gain a few more pounds."

"We can do that, right Toris?" Alfred agreed.

"Right," Toris said. The concluded the visit, and on the way out Arthur and Toris each got a sticker. Arthur's was a Harry Potter one, and Toris's was a dinosaur one. Arthur had also requested an extra sticker for one of his fairy friends.

Alfred also kept his promise and took them to the park. Their playtime was cut short though, because it started to rain, so instead of the park Alfred decided to get them some lunch at McDonald's and then hopefully put Arthur down for a nap. That was getting a little harder to do, but if Arthur didn't get a nap then he would grow cranky.

When they got back home, Toris wanted a nap too, so Alfred set them both up on the couch with blankets and pillows. Finally once the house was quiet, Alfred allowed his thoughts to be drawn to the conversation he'd had with Kiku last night. Could they possibly take in one more child? Well, he thought that they managed these three pretty well. Also, maybe Toris would benefit from having someone his age around, especially when he started school.

His thoughts began to drift to when they had first gotten Francis. They had been so scared, it was actually pretty hilarious to think about now. They had each been more nervous about having Francis rather than Francis was about coming to live with them. They had then found out that it really wasn't too difficult taking care of a child. It was a little easy because Francis had been four, so he already knew how to use the potty, and the difference between right and wrong (most of the time).

Then when Kiku had asked if they could take in a two year old, the panic had began all over again, especially since Arthur was a lot younger than Francis. But as soon as Kiku had introduced them to the wild little toddler, both parents had fallen in love with him. The only difficult part was toilet training, which they had to teach Arthur.

Then by the time they were asked to take in Toris, Alfred and Ivan were much more confident with their parenting skills. However, the case was also different with Toris, because he had been abused. Arthur was too young to remember being neglected, and Francis had been abandoned but never hit. Toris was more...fragile you could say. They had to be very careful, and especially not joke, because he always took them seriously.

Each child had a special place in their hearts though. Francis was their oldest artistic child who already knew how to cook most simple meals. Toris was their newest middle aged sensitive child who was still so hesitant and scared. Arthur was the youngest, their little baby boy who wanted to be a magical wizard pirate when he grew up. Now possibly, there would another little one added into the mix.

Well...what did they have to lose?

The more Alfred thought about it, the more he decided that maybe another child would work out. After all, the program funded all the costs, and Alfred was sure that he and Ivan would have enough love to provide to the little guy. That settled it then, when Ivan came home he was going to have a talk with him about it.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly in Alfred's opinion. The bus dropped Francis back off at home at one o'clock, since kindergarteners and first graders always got out one hour earlier than the older kids. Alfred entertained them all with a movie to watch. These were the times when he worshiped Disney to be able to have the power to entrance children with their movies.

Not long after the movie, Ivan arrived home. Alfred didn't have time to discuss the new child with him though, because Ivan was busy with dinner, and he himself had to break up one of Francis and Arthur's fights. Honestly, he hoped that one day those two would be able to get along. They were both at fault too, because Arthur provoked Francis just as much as the other way around. Soon they all sat down to dinner.

"I don't like cheese today," Francis said, indicating to his plate of lasagna. Honestly though, Alfred and Ivan saw it coming as usual.

"Francis, cheese is one of your favorite foods." Alfred pointed out.

"Not today it isn't," He disagreed.

"Well you are still going to eat it," Ivan informed him.

"I can eat too!" Arthur added, stabbing his fork into the meal and taking a bite that was much too large.

"Artie, you don't take big bites! Do you want to choke?" Alfred scolded him.

"Yeesh" Arthur said, the words sounding funny coming form his full mouth.

"Spit it out," Ivan said a little sternly, holding his napkin under the three year old's mouth. Arthur spit out the large amount of cheese and noodle, along with a good amount of spit.

"Ew, he's so yucky!" Francis exclaimed distastefully.

"He's just a baby Francis," Alfred defended their youngest.

"I'm not a baby!" Arthur argued.

"You can be a big boy when you learn to take small bites." Ivan informed him.

"Okay..." Arthur said, and took the smallest bite imaginable. "Now I'm a big boy!"

"But you're still yucky," Francis added.

"I am NOT YUCKY!" Arthur shouted, pounding a fist on the table. "You're yucky!"

"Okay okay...there's only one way to test this theory," Alfred said, standing up from his seat. He first walked over towards Arthur, placing a wet kiss on his cheek.

"Hmmm...nope, Arthur's not yucky. He tastes like sauce and cottage cheese...yummy! Now let's see about Francis." Alfred then did the same thing to the French boy, causing him to giggle. "Nope, Francis tastes yummy too. Okay, you were both wrong."

"What 'bout Toris?" Arthur asked. The whole family paused, watching as Toris froze in his place, looking very uncomfortable because of the fact that Arthur had just drawn him into the discussion. Alfred did not stay frozen for long though, and grinned.

"I dunno Artie, let's find out," He said, and then placed a big kiss on Toris's cheek as well. It was quite funny, because the little guy looked stunned. "No, he's not yucky either! Now how about we finish our supper?"

They did so, and Ivan happily watched his family. Francis began telling them about a new project he was doing at school, Arthur was still focusing on taking small bites, and Toris was eating his own dinner with a slight smile on his face. Ivan began to really appreciate Alfred for suggesting becoming foster parents in the first place. If they hadn't, how on earth would their lives be now? Probably very boring. The more Ivan thought about it, the more he was okay with having a new pair of little feet in the house. He would have to talk with Alfred after dinner.

* * *

"...And so then Pinocchio had finally gotten his wish and turned into a little boy, so they lived happily ever after." Alfred finished reading the story to Arthur and Toris, who were each sitting on one of his knees. "Okay, bedtime Arthur. Toris, you can go play for a few minutes if you want."

Toris nodded and went to leave the room, bumping into Ivan on the way.

"Oops, careful little one." Ivan murmured, his heart sinking when Toris quickly straightened himself and practically fled from the room.

"I need to talk to you after we tuck Arthur in," Ivan said.

"Oh good, I need to talk to you too," Alfred replied as he finished settling Arthur down. After that, both parents proceeded to give their baby his night time kisses and tickles before turning on the night light and leaving the room to go talk. As soon as they got to their bedroom and closed the door, they both started talking at once.

"I was thinking about what Kiku said-"

"I've been giving much thought about a new foster child-"

There was a silence, and then Alfred spoke up again.

"Dude, I wanna foster Feliks!" He blurted out, preparing himself for Ivan's argument. Surprisingly though, Ivan instead smiled.

"Da. I agree." Ivan said. It took a moment for Alfred to process what he had just said.

"Wait, what? You mean you agree?" He asked.

"Well, yes. I just think that we'll be able to handle it. I mean, one more couldn't hurt, right?" Ivan said with a chuckle.

"Exactly dude! So...should I call Kiku then?"

"Yes, right away. I'll get the children to bed."

**a/n: Please review! I really wanna know what you guys think!**

**Also, a huge thank you to:**

**The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:** _Thank you so much! I always look forward to your reviews, they never fail to make me giggle(:_

**Nisakeehl: **_Same here, I love stories like this! I'm really glad you like it!_

**KiyoMeow1305: **_Yay, I'm glad you think so! I love writing cute things!_

**A Shoulder to Lean on: **_Thank you, I'm wicked glad you enjoyed it! I'll definitely keep updating so long as I know people like it :D_

**Peter Kirkland: **_Wohoo, thank you so much! I'm so unbelievably happy now that I know people are liking this!(:_

**ps, The next chapter may take a few days because now I'm really going to get to work on my other stuff too. Probably Alternate Universe: Before and After will be updated, and also Look Towards Tomorrow! By the way, this story will not exactly focus on one character in particular. I do hope you guys are okay with some Poland/Lithuania friendship though(:  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Kiku was going to fly over to America with Feliks in one week, and after that the little guy would officially be their's. As mentioned before, **Hetalia International Children's Foster Care **worked just a bit different than regular fostering programs. You see, with Hetalia you were required to have at least a five year contract of guardianship. That meant that even if the child was absolutely horrible, you could not send them back. However, if there was any evidence that the guardians were abusive, then they were taken out almost instantly.

With their own kids, Alfred and Ivan had signed up for complete guardianship until the children were eighteen years of age. They were going to do the same thing with Feliks, so he could be ensured to have a good home until he grew up. It was the morning after Alfred had called to tell Kiku that they would take in Feliks, and so now came the time to tell the other kids.

"How would you all like to have a new brother?" Ivan asked, once they had managed to sit all three children down in the living room.

"Another new brother?" Francis asked. "But we just got a new one."

"I know dude, but this little guy really needs a family. His names Feliks, and he's all the way from Poland!" Alfred told him excitedly. "And guess what Toris, he's five years old, just like you!"

"Really?" Toris asked, looking a little bit excited. Maybe if there was a new kid there then a lot of the attention would be pulled off him...that would be nice.

"Will he play with me?" Arthur asked from his spot on Ivan's lap.

"I'm sure he will if you ask nicely. Just remember to be nice to him. He will be nervous, just like Toris was when he first came." Ivan said. _And still is..._

"So what about it guys? You up for having a new bro in the house?" Alfred asked them, hoping for some positive answers. It probably wouldn't be a problem though. When they had asked about Toris, Arthur and Francis had been excited, so this was probably the case now as well.

"Oui, I'm fine with it." Francis answered.

"Yeah! I want another brother!" Arthur agreed.

"Me too," Toris added on quickly.

"It's settled then. He'll be here next week." Ivan confirmed.

* * *

The week passed faster than Alfred and Ivan had expected. Luckily they had been able to clear out Ivan's old office since the new furniture for Toris's bedroom had arrived. It was decided that since Feliks was the same age as Toris, they would share a room. Toris was both excited and also a little nervous since he had not yet met their new brother.

They were supposed to meet Kiku and Feliks at Spring Hotel at ten am so Ivan and Alfred could fill out the necessary paperwork. The hotel was about an hour drive, so they would have to get an early start. However, when the exciting day arrived, things did not go as planned. They had accidentally slept in, and it had been the one day that Arthur hadn't acted as their alarm clock and woken them up.

By the time they had woken up, they only had twenty minutes until they were supposed to be getting into the car. Also unfortunately Arthur had developed a cold over night, so he really wasn't feeling good. Alfred and Ivan worked as a team though; While Ivan got Francis and Toris dressed, Alfred did the difficult task of getting Arthur to swallow a teaspoon of children's cough and cold medicine.

Eventually they were ready to go. Ivan buckled a crying Arthur into his car-seat while Alfred got into the drivers seat. Francis sat in the back (there was no way they were allowing him to sit next to Arthur; they wanted peace!) and Toris sat in the middle next to Arthur. There hadn't been enough time for breakfast, so Alfred pulled through the McDonald's drive-through so get them all breakfast sandwiches. After that, they got settled into the long hour drive.

"Can't you shut him up!?" Francis yelled, indicating to Arthur, who was still whimpering loudly.

"Do not say shut up Francis, those are not nice words," Ivan scolded, and then turned around in his seat to pat Arthur's leg. "Arthur, calm down little one. Try to go to sleep."

About thirty minutes into the car ride Arthur finally settled down and fell asleep, but then Francis announced that he had to use the bathroom.

"Francis, I told you to go pee before we left! Do you want us to be late?" Alfred asked, feeling himself growing a little frustrated. Today had just not been off to a good start.

"I did go, but I have to go again!" The six year old claimed.

"I see a rest stop ahead, we can pull over there really quick." Ivan spoke up. Alfred pulled the car over and ivan rushed their oldest inside to the restroom. They returned in record time, and then were on the road once again. Alfred put the radio on low, and nobody talked too loud for fear in waking up Arthur.

"You okay Toris?" Alfred asked, glancing in the rearview mirror and noticing that the five year old looked a little pale. He then remembered that Kiku had mentioning that long car rides gave Toris motion sickness. "Here bud, I'll open the window to give you some air."

Not long after that, both Toris and Francis fell asleep too. Now that they finally had some peace, Ivan placed one of his hands over Alfred's and grinned. "Well I suppose the morning could have gone worse. At least we woke up with enough time to get into the car."

"Yeah, thank god," Alfred replied. "Well, at least we're almost there."

When they arrived at the hotel, Alfred sighed in relief to see that they were right on time. The plan was to meet Kiku and Feliks in the lobby, and then go to the park across the street where they could meet Feliks, and also the adults could talk while the park occupied the kids.

"Okay guys, hope on out so we can go meet your new brother!" Alfred said excitedly he he opened up the van door so the children could climb out. He unbuckled a groggy Arthur and lifted the child into his arms.

"Be on your best behavior," Ivan warned.

When they entered the lobby, they spotted Kiku right away. He was seated on a couch, and next to him was a little boy who had to be Feliks. Alfred studied him a little as they made their way over. The child looked quite small, or at least a little shorter than Toris was. But unlike Toris, Feliks thankfully looked well fed and had a healthy glow to his cheeks.

His hair was blonde and almost reached his shoulders, just like Francis's did. However, it was straight unlike Francis's wavy hair. The boy's eyes were also an odd shade of green. Unlike Arthur's dark shade of forest green, they were brighter and had a sort of shine to them.

"Hello Alfred-san, Ivan-san. How is everyone?" Kiku greeted them cheerfully, smiling warmly. He was very pleased with the foster parents. They were by far one of the best pairs that he'd ever worked with.

"Hey dude, sup? We're all pretty good. We kinda got off to a late start though. Artie here has a bad cold, and we woke up late and stuff." Alfred answered cheerfully.

"I see," Kiku responded. There was a short silence before he looked at the boy next to him. "This is Feliks."

"Hey Feliks, hows it going? I'm Alfred, and this is Ivan, Francis, Toris, and Arthur." Alfred introduced the family, smiling at the child. Feliks however, gave a small whimper before ducking behind Kiku.

"He get's anxious around strangers often," Kiku informed them, smiling sadly as he patted Feliks's head reassuringly. "Don't worry, once he gets to know you he can be very outgoing and talkative. Trust me."

"That is fine. Toris is shy around strangers too," Ivan said. "I am sure we will get to know each other very well over the next few days."

"Ah, speaking of which, how are things going Toris? Are you having a good time getting used to things?" Kiku inquired.

"Yes sir," Toris answered, looking down at the floor as his cheeks turned pink.

"Well then, how about we all go outside to that park now? I'm sure the kids want to stretch their legs from that long car ride." Alfred spoke up.

"Good idea. I have some paperwork that needs to be filled out, it will take a little while. After that you are free to return home." Kiku said. He and Feliks both stood up. Alfred spotted Feliks stealing glances of curiosity at him.

"We're really glad you can come live with us buddy. Guess what, Toris here is the same age as you! He's really nice, so I bet you two will get along just great. Also, Francis is six, and Arthur just turned three. You get to be an older brother _and _a younger brother, isn't that awesome!?" Alfred rambled cheerfully as the group walked across the street. Suddenly something occurred to him.

"Er, you said he was from Poland...does he speak English?" He asked Kiku a little worriedly. If not then that would be kind of bad, since he had no idea how to speak Polish, and he doubted Ivan could either. Thankfully when they had gotten Francis, Ivan had still remembered much from his high school French class.

Kiku laughed reassuringly. "Yes, he speaks fluent English, but Polish is his first language. Luckily his uncle knew English and taught him. Don't worry, he'll talk more when he's ready."

"I'm not ready yet," Feliks spoke for the first time, chewing on his thumbnail. Kiku was right, he spoke with a thick Polish accent.

"That is fine, you can take as much time as you want little one." Ivan said, glad that at least the boy had spoken. With Toris it had taken him a full 24 hours to speak to them for the first time.

When they got to the park, Alfred, Ivan, and Kiku went to sit at a picnic table, Arthur now being held by Ivan. Francis, Toris, and Feliks were told to go play on the playground. Hopefully the children would all get a chance to connect while they filled out the paperwork and went over everything with Kiku.

"He seems like a great kid," Alfred commented once they had all sat.  
"Yes, he is. You just wait till he starts talking more, he can be a wonderful amusement. You can hardly get him to stop talking." Kiku told them with a chuckle. "However, there are some certain needs he is going to have."

"What do you mean?" Ivan asked.

"Well, as I mentioned on the phone, Feliks witnessed his uncle get murdered. It was after a robber broke into their home. He had a gun, and Feliks's uncle startled the robber, so he was shot. Feliks had called the police, but his uncle died before even the ambulance arrived." Kiku told them.

"Gee...that's fucking awful. Poor kid..." Alfred muttered. He wanted to run over and squeeze the little Polish boy into a hug.

"Yes, well because of this, he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is very common to children who experience such things. Anyway, be prepared for nightmares, and he also has a fear of guns I believe. If you own any, be sure to keep them out of sight."

"Don't worry dude, we don't have any guns, just a baseball bat for emergencies. However, I'm proud to say that I do have a permit to carry a pistol," Alfred bragged proudly.

"Would it be a good idea to set him up with a children's psychologist?" Ivan asked, rolling his eyes at Alfred.

"Mhm, quite a good idea. I took the liberty of contacting a woman who does not live too far from your own home. She specializes in things such as this." Kiku said, handing an appointment card with the contact info over to the Russian man.

"Okay no prob, we can do that." Alfred said. "So can we start on the paperwork? I really wanna get it over with. The only thing that sucks about fostering is all the papers to fill out,"

"Of course. There are sheets for the both of you to fill out," Kiku said, taking out a manilla envelope and two pens. He scrolled through the papers, dividing them up and passing them to each adult.

"Do you mind holding Arthur for us? Colds always wear him out. The poor thing cried for a good amount of the car ride." Ivan requested.

"Certainly, I would be happy to." Kiku nodded, and so Ivan passed the tired toddler to him. Alfred grumbled as he looked through the many pages of things to fill out, but got straight to work. As he did so, he could hear the children talking in the distance.

"What's Poland like?" He heard Francis asking Feliks.  
"It's fun. Sort of different than here though." Feliks answered. At least the kid was starting to open up more.

"Do you miss it?" Toris asked. Wait, Toris was talking? That was great!

"Yeah, but adventures are fun, and this is sort of like an adventure I guess." Feliks said.

"Hi Kiku..." Arthur's sleepy voice broke Alfred from his eavesdropping.

"Hello Arthur-kun, I heard you are feeling sick. I'm sorry, that must be no fun." Kiku replied, shifting the child more comfortably on his lap.

"Yeah. Daddy made me take the yucky medicine, and I don't like it."

"Artie, it was to make you feel better. Now you're not coughing as much, see?" Alfred butted in.

"No," Arthur pouted.

"Aww come on bud, I didn't have a choice."

"No," Arthur repeated, giving a small whine.

"I think someone needs an early bedtime tonight. Being sick always makes him overtired." Ivan explained.

"Yeah, but at least he got a little nap in the car. Without a nap, he'd be even worse." Alfred added as he scribbled away at the papers in front of him.

It surprisingly didn't take too long to get all of the papers signed. They gave the two adults a lot more information about Feliks. For instance, it said that he was allergic to shellfish and that his favorite color was pink. Once they were done, Ivan suggested that they all go out to lunch. Kiku politely declined because he needed to get back on the plane to Japan.

"Hey, who want's to go to Friendly's?" Alfred shouted over to the kids as he swung Arthur into his arms. Friendly's never took that long to get food served, and it was one of the American's favorite places. After eating they would have to get back though, so Arthur could rest.

"We do!" Francis yelled. "It's fun there because they give you crayons to color with!" He explained to Toris and Feliks, who had both never been before.

They said goodbye to Kiku, who wished them good luck, and then went on their way to the restaurant.

* * *

"So Felkis, how would you like to share a room with Toris? We already have it all set up at home." Alfred informed him. They were all crammed into a booth at the restaurant. Ivan and Alfred sat on one side, with Arthur in Alfred's lap. The other three boys were sitting across from them, and they were all waiting for their food. It had been a hassle to order, mostly because Toris was too scared to speak to the waitress and Arthur had fussed about not getting to have soda.

"Okay," Feliks agreed, opening up more to the adults. "What color is the room?"

"Just cream colored...we can paint it sometime if you'd like." Ivan answered.

"Can we paint it pink?"

"Pink?" Alfred asked, but then remembered that pink was the kid's favorite color. "Sure I guess, as long as Toris doesn't mind."

"Do you mind?" Feliks asked, turning to the boy who sat in between him and Francis. Toris shook his head.

"So bud, I figured that we could give you about a week or two to get used to the home, then we can get you settled in school. How does that sound?" Alfred asked.

"Will I be in Toris's class?" Feliks asked, a little worried about starting a brand new school with all kinds of creepy strangers.

"Toris doesn't go to school right now."

"But you said we were the same age. Why can't he go?" Feliks asked, puzzled.

"He's just not ready yet," Alfred said, finding it hard to explain. He felt bad when Toris slunk down in his seat, sipping at his water cautiously.

"Can I go?" Arthur asked.

"Nah, I need you to keep me company Artie. What would I do all day without you around?" Alfred asked in mock horror.

"Be happy?" Francis guessed. "I would be."

"Francis," Ivan warned. "Be nice to your little brother."

"Oui Papa," Francis grumbled. Finally the waitress appeared with their food. The meal went relatively well. Francis for once didn't complain about his food. Toris didn't look like he was going to bolt from the room. Feliks was getting more comfortable within every minute. Yup, nothing bad happened. Arthur wasn't too hungry, but Alfred managed to feed him a few bites from his own plate of a Super burger and fries.

"Have you ever shot a gun?" Felkis suddenly surprised both older guardians by asking.

"...Nope. We don't really approve of guns." Ivan answered, feeling that it was best to say that neither one of them had, despite this not being the truth. Much to his relief, Feliks smiled.

"Okay," He said, nodding. "Good."

So Feliks had PTSD. Well, it could have been worse. Besides, they had expected something of the sort. Every foster child had experienced at least some sort of trauma. Francis had gone through a phase not long after they'd began fostering him. He would throw all his new toys on the ground, and then scream and pound the floor whenever Alfred or Ivan had asked him to clean them up. Then he would refuse to do anything else they said, and just break down screaming and kicking. They had brought him to several therapists, but nothing had worked.

About a month after his wild behavior had started, Francis had then broken down into tears and clung to them, begging them not to abandon him. It had broken both adult's hearts. After hours of reassuring him that they loved him and that they would never leave him, he had finally been convinced. After that he acted much better.

Even when they got Arthur problems occurred, though not nearly as bad as with Francis. Instead, the toddler had just had a lot of separation anxiety because he was not around his father or brothers anymore. However, since he'd been so severely neglected by them it didn't take Arthur too long to warm up to his new guardians, since they gave him so much love.

The neglect had made Arthur a little behind. His coordination wasn't very good since nobody had really helped him learn to walk, and nobody had bothered to potty train him either. He had also been malnourished from not being fed properly. Once Alfred and Ivan got him, they fixed all of these problems. Looking at him now, a year later, it was hard to tell anything had ever been wrong.

Toris had most of the symptoms that any physically abused child would get. His self esteem was low, adults scared him, and he was startled easily, flinching whenever someone laid a hand on him. His problems were not yet fixed, but Alfred and Ivan were working on it. After all, a month was not nearly long enough to get him to fix these sort of things, but eventually with enough love and guidance, he would be okay.

Now they were going to help Feliks too.

* * *

"Now if you need anything, me and Ivan are right down the hall. There's a glass of water on your nightstand in case you get thirsty. Oh, and remember that the bathroom is to the right of Arthur's room. Got it dude?" Alfred asked as he smoothed the covered around their newest member of the family.

"Okay, thanks." Felkis said with a yawn. Alfred hesitated for a moment before kissing the top of his head, and then going over to do the same to Toris, who was sleeping in a bed on the other side of the room.

The evening earlier had been pretty calm. Alfred had left Toris and Francis to give Feliks a tour, and then he popped in a movie for the kids to watch until dinner was ready. Arthur had gotten a bath early and was put to bed after having to take another dose of medicine. This time he had been too tired to argue though, so it wasn't a big deal. Now Alfred was tucking in his two five year olds.

"Night," Toris worked up the courage to say.

"Good night buddy. Don't let those evil beddie bugs bite." Alfred said with a wink. With that, he turned in the nightlight, just like he did with Arthur and Francis, and left the door open. He figured it was better to leave it open. This was both Feliks and Toris's first time sleeping in the new room, so they might be nervous. Francis had been happy to have his room to himself again.

Once he left the room, there were no other disturbances for awhile. He was able to snuggle in bed with Ivan for a good hour and a half watching some sci-fi movie before they turned off the lights and decided to turn in early too.  
However, sometime around one in the morning Alfred felt someone gently tapping his hand.

"Ugh..." He groaned and rolled over, not really awake yet. He finally became more coherent after hearing someone hiccuping and crying. Had Arthur woken up? Was he feeling more sick? Was Francis afraid of that "monster" under his bed again? However, when he opened his eyes he was not greeted by only one pair of eyes. Nope, there were two children standing by his bed, and neither one of them was Francis or Arthur.

"Feliks? Toris? What are you guys doing up...what's wrong?" He asked worriedly. He heard Ivan waking up beside him.

"I h-had a bad d-dream!" Feliks wailed. "T-the murderer is c-coming to get me!"

"Aww come here buddy," Alfred murmured, reaching out to pull the trembling child into his arms. "Shh, it's okay. There's no murderer, everything's fine."

Feliks only whimpered. Toris began trembling in his spot too, eyes wide and frightened, mostly due to the fact that he had never been in the master bedroom before. What if Ivan or Alfred got mad? That most certainly wasn't the case though.

"Come on you two, you can sleep with us tonight." Alfred said, first lifting up Feliks and resting him beside him in the bed. Then before Toris could say anything, he was lifted up too, and placed in between Feliks...and _Ivan_, much to his horror!

"Shh, calm down little one. Go to sleep." Ivan, who was now fully away, said to Toris, running a hand through the child's light brown locks.

For awhile Toris laid wide awake in fear, even though he was sure the others had fallen asleep. Eventually though, he began to grow more sleepy. Ivan was really warm, and it was actually sort of comfortable. Feliks had latched onto Alfred, but Toris didn't dare cuddle up any closer to Ivan. He wasn't able to think much longer until sleep overcame him.

...

"WAKE UP! Morning daddy, morning father! I'm up, I'm up, I'm up!"

Toris startled awake from the shouting, and felt someone leap up onto the bed. He heard Ivan groan, and for some reason he felt his arms being moved a little. Then, much to his horror, Toris realized that in his sleep he had latched his arms around Ivan and had snuggled up close for his warmth.

"G'mornin Artie...are you sure it's time to wake up? Can't daddy and father sleep a little more?" Alfred asked with a slight grumble.

"No," Arthur said with a giggle.

"Ah, then since you are awake then you can take medicine, da?" Ivan asked. Just as he expected, Arthur's eyes widened considerably and he shrieked.

"No, no, no! I can sleep more!" Arthur insisted, and plopped himself down between Feliks, who had somehow slept through all the commotion, and Toris himself. It was a tight squeeze, but they managed. However, now Toris was tense all over again. Ivan however was ecstatic upon finding out that Toris had actually been okay with sleeping next to him that night.

Maybe they were making some progress.

Now however, the day would be faced with new adventures, because today would be Feliks's fist official day as part of their family.

Hopefully too many shenanigans would not be caused.

**a/n: Okay, so I may have said that this chapter would take a few days...I lied I guess. Once I start a new story I just cant stop writing it! Plus after seeing that I had over ten reviews for chapter 2, I got all happy and just felt the need to type after I came home from school.**

**To all who reviewed last chapter, you don't know how happy you made me! I love you guys! Seriously, I'm gonna give all of you virtual hugs now!  
**

**A HUGE THANKS to:  
**

**Froggiecool, amoka22, 91RedRoses, ThatPurplyThing, Peter Kirkland, Pixie Star Fire, emismpunk, Nisa, CookieBirdGirl, **_and_** Beckett Simpleton!** _I totally would reply to each of you individually but right now I really need to go take a run, eat dinner, and shower before bed._ **  
**

**So bye-bye everyone! I would just love some more reviews...seriously, they make me so happy, and it always gives me the urge to write ;)  
**


	4. Chapter 4

"Francis seriously, the bus is gonna be here any minute. Why does clothing have to matter so much, you're only in first grade!" Alfred said, exasperated. The bus was coming in less than ten minutes, and yet the French child had yet to choose his outfit for the day.

"Because, I want to look nice!" Francis answered, stamping a tiny foot in frustration. Apparently he couldn't find any pairs of pants that would match his shirt. Alfred was still at a loss. When he was six, he never cared about clothes. Francis's old therapist had suggested that Francis cared much about his appearance and was self conscious because of fear. Perhaps in the young child's mind, if he was not 'perfect' then perhaps he would be abandoned.

"Look buddy, you've got a lot of pants that match. How about these blue jeans?"

"Non!" Francis shouted.

"Don't be so upset. Use a nicer tone with me or I'll bring Papa up here, and he won't be so happy." Alfred warned lightly, but not completely kidding. Ivan was staying home for today and tomorrow, so both he and Alfred could spend some quality time with Feliks, and even Toris too.

"I won't go to school if I can't find anything to match it!" Francis shouted, on the verge of tears.

"You're going to school Francis. Now I'll give you three minutes to pick out something. If you can't, then I'll be the one choosing. We'll be late for the bus at this rate." Alfred told him, and then left the room to see how everyone else was faring.

Toris and Feliks were both finishing up their cereal in the kitchen. Ivan meanwhile, had just gave Arthur another dose of medicine and was now cuddling him on the couch while he watched the morning news.

"Is he ready?" Ivan asked.

"No, he hasn't even picked out a single article of clothing yet. If he doesn't pick them out in the next three minutes then I'm dressing him." Alfred replied with a huff, sitting next to his husband on the couch. Arthur immediately climbed into his lap.

"Can I help him?" Feliks suddenly asked, standing in the kitchen doorway. He was still dressed in his nightwear, looking quite adorable in his light green footie pajamas. Alfred couldn't help but grin.

"You can try Feliks, but I doubt it'll do any good." He answered. The five year old's face lit up, and he took off up the stairs.

"That was odd," Ivan spoke up.

"Yeah," Alfred responded, and then heard a cough and looked down at Arthur. "Hey buddy. Still sick huh?"

"I just took his temperature. He's running a slight fever with this cold, so he'll have to take it easy today." Ivan informed him.

"I want juice..." Arthur muttered pitifully.

"I'll get you some, and then I need to take Francis out to the bus whether he likes it or not." Alfred said, passing Arthur back to Ivan as he stood up. When he got to the kitchen he saw Toris struggling to wash his dishes.

"Don't worry Toris, you don't have to do that. Why don't you go play? Maybe you can show Feliks some of the toys in the den when he comes back downstairs." Alfred suggested as he poured juice into a sippy cup.

"Okay." Toris agreed, walking towards the den. Alfred returned to the living room, giving Artur his juice before jogging up the stairs. It was the exact time in which the bus would be arriving, so he had to hurry up before they missed it. Finally he made it up to the six year old's room.

"Francis, it's time to-"

"I'm ready to go!" Francis merrily interrupted him. Alfred's mouth dropped open in shock. The boy was completely dressed, and smiling! "Feliks is so good with picking out clothes! He's going to help me every morning now."

Alfred blinked. So Feliks was into fashion huh? Well if he could get Francis dressed in less than three minutes than Alfred wasn't complaining. Anyone who had the power to get Francis dressed was a friend of Alfred's.

"Really? Feliks you're awesome bud! Aw crap, Francis hurry up before we're late..."

Sadly, they made it outside exactly when the bus decided to stop waiting, and so they missed it. Alfred had to drive Francis to school, but honestly that was normal. Ivan was left to take care of the children. Toris was playing in the den, and Feliks had just run down to join him. It was amazing to see that the five year old had been able to help out Francis.

Ivan was still very happy about this morning and last night. Toris had actually been brave enough to snuggle with him! That was definitely a huge improvement. Ivan really wanted to be able to hug the child freely and express the same amount of love for Toris as he did with his other boys. He believed that it was important for all young children to be held and nurtured.

It was actually nice to have their kids sleep with them. True, he and Alfred liked alone time sometimes, most of the time it was nice to have the company of little ones. Arthur was the one who mostly joined them, but once in awhile Francis would too if he was scared of something. Knowing that Feliks felt safe enough to come to them (on his first night nonetheless) made him very happy. There was also the fact that Toris had came too, but Ivan knew that the little one probably wouldn't have if Feliks didn't.

Today he wanted to make it his personal goal to bond with them. He had spoken to Alfred about this last night, and the American had agreed that it was a good idea. So later today he was going to take Feliks and Toris out somewhere while Alfred stayed at home to take care of Arthur.

The rest of the morning passed rather nicely. Toris and Feliks were both bathed and dressed, and then mostly stayed in the den playing with a mixture of toy dinosaurs and farm animals. It was a little amusing seeing them pretend that the animals were being eaten. Finally Ivan's time to bond with them came.

"Toris, Feliks, come put on your coats! We're going out for a little bit." Ivan called cheerfully.

"Where are we going?" Feliks asked as both boys came out of the den.

"You'll see," Ivan told him with a smile.

"Can I go to?" Arthur asked.

"Sorry buddy, not this time. You're gonna come with me to my room and take a nap with daddy." Alfred was quick to say.

"No nap," Arthur pouted.

"Yes, nap. Don't worry, they're not doing anything fun. You'll just be bored."

Ivan sent Alfred a relieved smile and then turned to the boys. It was funny to see their expressions of disappointment from Alfred's words. "Come along, out to the car."

He waited until both boys had buckled themselves into their booster seats before turning around to face them with an excited smile.

"I'm taking you both out for ice cream. We had to make a small fib to Arthur so he wouldn't be upset," Ivan told them. "But we can bring both him and Alfred back some ice cream too."

"I love ice cream!" Feliks exclaimed, turning cheerful once again. "I like chocolate, and vanilla, and mint, and cake batter, and bubble gum, and black raspberry..."

It turned out that Kiku had been right. Once Feliks came out of his shell, or was excited, then he talked a lot. Basically he wouldn't stop babbling for the entire ride there, but Ivan didn't mind. He thought it was pretty adorable. Toris hadn't said much, nervous because it was just them and Ivan.

"What's your favorite kind Toris?" Feliks finally asked when he ran out of breath.

"I'm not s-sure," Toris said, stuttering a bit.

"Well there are plenty of kinds to try," Ivan told him encouragingly. "I myself am a vanilla twist kind of guy."

Not long after that they arrived at Joe's Sprinkles, one of Ivan's favorite places to get ice cream. He waited for the boys to climb out of the van before leading them inside. The woman at the register smiled at them.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" She asked.

"We'd like to order a few ice creams," Ivan said, and then turned to the children. "What flavors do you want?"

"Can I have bubblegum flavor?" Feliks asked.

"Of course. What about you Toris?" Ivan asked, looking down at the more timid child kindly. Toris looked quite frightened though, looking down at the floor and clutching his hands together tightly.

"I...I dunno..." He answered shyly. Ivan decided to help him out a bit. This trip was supposed to be fun after all, not scary.

"Would you like to get chocolate? Most people like that. Or you could get bubblegum like Feliks." He suggested.

"Chocolate please." He murmured.

"Wonderful," Ivan said, turning to the lady. "We'll take one chocolate, one bubblegum, and one twist in dishes. Make them small please."

"Would you like sprinkles or anything on them?" The woman asked.

"Rainbow!" Feliks said excitedly, but Toris shook his head no.  
"Ah, so you are like me, da? I dislike sprinkles as well." Ivan said with a laugh, hoping to ease some of the tension from the boy.

The ice cream turned out to be quite good. Ivan was joyful to see that even Toris looked like he was enjoying his. Feliks had a good amount of ice cream on his chin, but thankfully none had dripped onto his clothes yet. It was almost getting too cold for ice cream, since October was only a few days away.

"Thank you," Toris suddenly said, his lips almost forming into a hesitant smile. Ivan was stunned, but extremely pleased. Those words had just made his whole day.

"Yeah, thank you," Feliks added.

"It was no trouble. We will have to do this again sometime. During the summer the whole family normally goes." He said. "It's going to close soon though, because we're going into the colder weather."

* * *

They returned home not long after their outing, but not before picking up a carton of ice cream for the rest of the family. Toris and Feliks both went up to their room, probably to go play or something. After Ivan took off his jacket he went upstairs to his own bedroom, tiptoeing inside. Alfred lay sprawled atop the large bed, Arthur laying on top of his chest. They were both sound asleep.

"They are both so adorable," Ivan couldn't help muttering out loud. He took out his cell phone and snapped a quick picture before leaning close and pressing his lips against Alfred's temple.

"Darling...wake up. We're back."

"Hmm?" Alfred slowly awoke, rubbing his eyes blearily. "Oh, hey babe. How was it?"

"It went well," Ivan said, reaching down to pick up Arthur, who was rubbing his own eyes as well.

"It's about one o'clock...the bus will be here to drop off Francis soon." Alfred noted as he peered at his alarm clock.

"I'll go wait for him," Ivan volunteered.

"Can I go?" Arthur asked.

"Only if you wear your jacket. You're still not 100%." Alfred told him. Arthur agreed and so Ivan bundled him up warmly before walking out to the end of the driveway so they could wait for the bus.

"I want a bus," Arthur announced as they waited.

"Really now? How come?" Ivan asked, a bit amused. Their baby could certainly be random at times.

"Cause it's yellow," Arthur answered, as if this should have been quite obvious.

"Da, that makes perfect sense." Ivan agreed.

"Da...da...da...da, da, da!" Arthur sang, kicking his feet to be put down.

"Da means yes in Russia," Ivan told him. "Someday I will take you guys on a trip there so you can see where I grew up."

"Where's that?"

"Russia is far away, near China. It is a very big country." Ivan told him.

"Can I go?"

"Someday."

When the bus came, Francis got off as quickly as possible, shouting and dancing about very excitedly.

"Papa, Papa, I get to be in a play!" He announced. Ivan joyfully.

"Really now? What sort of play?"

"It's about a little frog who gets lost in the woods...and guess what? I get to star as the main character, the frog!" Francis told him. Arthur began laughing.

"Francis is a froggy! You're a frog Francis!" He giggled.

"Be quiet!" Francis yelled. "At least I get to be in a play! You're too little!"

"Alright, enough you two," Ivan stopped them before it got out of hand. "Francis, I'm very proud of you. Why don't we go inside now? You can have a snack and tell everybody else about your play."

Once they were back inside, Francis snacked on some carrot sticks while he told everybody all about his play. Apparently in a few weeks from now all of the parents and family were invited to come watch it.

"Da, Francis the frog!" Arthur kept singing. When Alfred heard him, his mouth dropped.

"What the...da? Ivan, are you teaching Arthur to be Russian? You know I don't like communists." Alfred snapped playfully.

"Alfred, Russia has not been communist for quite sometime. Besides, his Russian accent is atrocious, he would never pass for one." Ivan replied.

"Tell him to stop calling me a frog!" Francis grumbled.

"But dude, you _are_ going to be a frog for the play. Artie's just supporting you." Alfred said, patting down Francis's hair.

"Well I don't like it." Francis snapped.

"Alright, Arthur, no more calling Francis a frog." Ivan ordered. "He's not a frog right now, he only will be during the play. If you want to go see it then you must be nice to him."

"Gosh Artie, maybe we shouldn't have napped for so long. You're all full of energy now, even while sick."

"So no medicine," Arthur concluded.

"I wouldn't go that far dude, you still got a cough."

* * *

After dinner, which had gone surprisingly well, Alfred decided that the whole family should watch a movie. After getting the kids into their jammies, they put in Aladdin, which Toris and Feliks had never seen before. Personally it was one of Alfred's favorites. They all squished together on the big couch, bundled with pillows and blankets.

Feliks and Arthur were both quick to nab Alfred's lap. Francis happily just moved onto Ivan's lap, but Toris stood there, clutching his teddy bear (A gift from when he had first arrived) to his chest. Ivan caught sight of him and smiled reassuringly.

"Come sit on my lap Toris, I wont bite." He assured him. Toris didn't look so sure, but he slowly stepped forward into Ivan's awaiting arms. The Russian didn't waste any time in lifting Toris up and placing him in his lap next to Francis, wrapping a quilt securely around both of the children. He caught Alfred beaming at him, giving him a thumbs up. He felt how tense Toris was and tried rubbing his back gently. Thankfully it worked, and slowly he leaned back into Ivan's chest, eyes captivated in the film.

"I wish I had a flying carpet!" Feliks commented sometime during the middle of the film.

"Me too dude, that would be awesome!" Alfred replied excitedly. Ivan resisted rolling his eyes; His husband could be such a child sometimes. Besides, he was in a very good mood. A month ago Toris would have never allowed himself to sit in his lap. Maybe Alfred had been right, they would be able to grow closer. Arthur had conked out at the beginning of the movie. Somewhere towards the end, Ivan looked down and noticed that Toris had fallen asleep too.

"Looks life we lost almost half of the audience," Alfred laughed once the movie had ended. "I guess that means bedtime."

"Yes, Francis you have school tomorrow." Ivan noted. He then slipped his arms under Toris and picked the sleeping child up. He didn't want to wake him up, he looked too peaceful. Toris looked much happier when asleep, he observed. All the knots of worry and fear had left the child's face, making him look much like how he should normally.

Feliks followed Ivan up to their room. After settling Toris on the bed, Ivan then tucked in Feliks.

"If you have any more bad dreams then you can come get us." He whispered, before leaving the room.

Alfred meanwhile, had first put Arthur in bed before going to tuck in Francis. After he was done, he met Ivan in the hallway, and they each switched rooms, Ivan going to Francis and Alfred going to Feliks to say goodnight.

"Toris looks like he feels a lot more comfortable around you Ivan!" Alfred exclaimed happily once they had made it to their own bedroom.

"Da, I know! I think we are finally connecting!" Ivan said, tone just as excited as Alfred's.

"I'm glad," Alfred murmured, pressing his lips gently against his partner's.

"Me too Sunflower," Ivan replied once they had broken apart. "Me too."

* * *

The following week went by well. Arthur's cold went away, and Feliks was adjusting wonderfully to his new home. He did often have nightmares, and drag both him and Toris to sleep with the grown ups, but Alfred and Ivan certainly weren't complaining. Soon Feliks would be starting school though, and so it would just be Toris and Arthur again. Feliks was going to be seeing his psychiatrist during school once a week, and maybe she would be able to help him with his nightmares.

Two nights before school was going to start for Feliks, Toris came into the kitchen where Ivan and Alfred were cleaning up dinner.

"What's up buddy?" Alfred asked curiously. Toris looked at the ground and muttered something too softly for them to hear him.

"Could you repeat that please?" Ivan asked.

"I...I would like to go to school too please," He said a little louder. "With Feliks..."

There was a silence, while Alfred and Ivan looked at each other, stunned. Then, Alfred broke out into a huge grin.

"Awesome! I'll register you asap, and I'll make sure you and Feliks are in the same class. This is great bud, I know you'll do awesome!"

"But you don;t need to feel rushed. If you try it and don't like it, then you can still come home after." Ivan assured him.

"Okay...um, thank you very much." Toris said, quickly running out of the room. They heard him vaguely shout to Feliks that he was going to school too.

"Wow...he really is improving," Alfred said in amazement.

"He's very close to Feliks. They are good for each other." Ivan remarked.

How right he was.

**a/n: Wow, another pretty quick update. Eventually my updates probably wont be as quick, lol. I've just been having a lot of spare time, what with having Thanksgiving break last week and everything. Now that I'm back in school though, I'm sure the teachers are going to pack us up with homework. Ah, the wonders of High School...:p **

**By the way, are you guys okay with the way I'm writing Feliks? I'm trying hard to get him right, but I've never written a story with him in it before. Let me know if I'm screwing up horribly. **

**Honestly, isn't family fluff just the best? I'm having such a fun time writing it. I'm really glad that other people are enjoying it. I just totally giggle the whole time I'm writing it.  
**

**I'll respond to all the reviews in the next chapter!  
**

**Tell me what you thought of this chapter please!  
**

**:)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

"Alrighty, your backpacks are both equipped with everything a kid could ever want for school. Pencil boxes, scented markers, colored pencils, erasers, you name it!" Alfred announced the evening before it would be Toris and Feliks's first day of school. Technically they weren't all the way registered yet, but they would be spending a few days trying it out anyhow, and then they would be properly enrolled.

The school was a really good place. The teachers were all nice, Ivan and Alfred knew most of them personally since the school wasn't that large. The school knew how they fostered, and were aware of the children's needs. Alfred had explained to them about how nervous the two boys were, especially Toris. Feliks was also very shy around strangers.

"I'll get to see you guys at recess, because kindergarteners and first graders get to go outside at the same time!" Francis told them excitedly.

"Yes!" Feliks shouted. "So like, we can all play and stuff!"

"I hope the work isn't too hard..." Toris said nervously.

"Don't worry, they'll teach you everything you know. Kindergarten is lots of fun." Alfred reassured him. "But for now it's time to get your pj's on. You need plenty of energy for tomorrow after all. You can all have twenty of minutes to watch TV while I get Arthur in bed, okay?"

"Oui Père," Francis responded, so Alfred left them to go get his littlest ready for bed. When he got to Arthur's room Ivan had there getting Arthur, who had just had a bath, into his jammies.

"Ready for story time?" Alfred asked.

"No," Arthur pouted.

"He's been a little bothered for some reason. He won't tell me what's wrong." Ivan informed Alfred.

"Aw, what's up buddy?" Alfred asked, smoothing down Arthur's soft hair, which smelt like mango due to the kids L'oreal shampoo that they had taken to buying recently.

"I want to go too," Arthur sniffed.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Alfred asked in confusion.

"To school!" Arthur said, beginning to wail. "Why can't I go? I wanna!"

"Arthur, you are too young. Just wait a couple of years, then you can go." Ivan told him.

"I want to go now," Arthur sniffed.

"Don't worry buddy, we'll have lots of fun here tomorrow! It'll just be you and me, you can have me all to yourself!" Alfred said brightly. "And I have an idea of what we can do tomorrow. What do you say to making cookies? We can surprise your brothers with them!"

"I can help?" Arthur asked, hiccuping a bit.

"Of course you can. Be sure to save a cookie for me, promise?" Ivan asked.

"Okay, promise." Arthur told him, feeling a tiny bit better. Alfred was pretty excited too. It would be a lot calmer with just one kid to look after. Besides, he loved being with Arthur. Sometimes his boss even allowed him to bring Arthur to work with him. All of the older children at the school adored Arthur, and Arthur himself always had a blast being 'a grown up like daddy.'

It didn't take too long to get the three year old to bed, and afterwards it was time to get the older ones to bed. Earlier they had been bathed, so they were all clean and ready for tomorrow. Mostly both adults were amazed that Toris actually had asked them if he could go! Heck, that was the first time he'd ever asked for anything, and to top it off he had asked about school of all things!

Hopefully the two little boys would grow to love school.

* * *

The next morning Alfred had gotten up earlier than usual. He was going to be driving them to school today, so make sure that Toris and Feliks were all settled. Ivan had left for work, but not before kissing each of his children, and wishing the two little kindergarteners good luck. Soon after Ivan left, Alfred piled all the kids into the van and drove downtown where the local Elementary school was located.

"You go ahead to class Francis, I have to take Feliks and Toris to the office so we can check them in." Alfred said, leaning down to kiss his oldest on the head.

"Okie dokie then, follow me," Alfred, who was holding Arthur, told the two boys after Francis had left. He led them into the main office, where a secretary was waiting.

"Hey Mrs. Knight, I've got my two little boys that I called about." Alfred greeted the secretary, laying a hand atop each of the nervous boy's heads.

"Oh that's wonderful! They're both in the same class just as you requested. I'll take them there now."

"Alrighty," Alfred said, then suddenly feeling a pang of sadness knowing that he was no longer going to have the two sweet boys around the house. "You two have fun okay? Francis will show you where the bus is, and me and Artie will meet you at the bus stop after school."

"We will," Feliks said. "Bye!"

"Bye," Toris added.

"See ya later!" Alfred said, trying to stop himself from going all teary eyed. Dammit, he could be so freaking emotional at times! Sort of like Ivan when he was on that pain medication from a surgery last summer...Anyways, after kissing each of them, he watched the two boys follow the woman down the wall and then shifted Arthur in his arms a bit.

"Well kiddo, it's just you and me huh?" He asked, pressing his nose against Arthur's soft hair. Well, at least he still had his littlest baby...who would be going off to preschool next year! No, there was no way he would allow his youngest baby to go to school. Oh well, he had a year before he had to deal with that.

It took a lot of willpower to walk out of the school, but once he did, he decided that they would have time to stop by Matthew's home to visit. Arthur was all for it; He loved his Uncle Matthew a lot. Matthew lived the next town over, but it was only a fifteen minute drive.

Matthew and Gilbert had two other new foster children besides Ludwig, who was now seven years old. They also had a six year old named Feliciano, who was friends with Francis, and a four year old named Natalia.

Once Alfred arrived at Gilbert and Matthew's house, he unbuckled Arthur and carried him towards the doorway. The house was only one story, but pretty big. Alfred didn't bother knocking, flinging open the door, which led to the kitchen, as if he owned the place.

"Yo Mattie, you home?" He shouted. Gilbert worked as a mechanic during the day, it was his own business so he made good money. Matthew stayed home to take care of the kids mostly, but he also worked for a program that helped protect the environment.

"Al, I didn't know you were visiting today," Matthew said, coming into the kitchen to greet him.

"Yeah well, I dropped the boys off at school, so me and Artie have nothing better to do." Alfred explained.

"Oh. Well, it's just me and Nat home today. She only goes to preschool twice a week." Matthew said. "Um, so come on in."

"Uncle Matthew!" Arthur squealed holding out his arms out. Matthew wasted no time in taking his nephew into his arms. At first Matthew had disapproved of Alfred fostering, thinking that he was too much of a kid himself to raise one. However, he was proved wrong. Alfred and Ivan both made splendid parents.

As soon as he met them, Matthew had fallen in love with his new nephews. Francis was particularly fond of Matthew, since he could speak fluent French and they could converse. Matthew had not yet met Feliks, but he would soon.

"So, hows your newest doing?" Matthew asked Alfred.

"Just great dude! Feliks fits in wonderfully. Besides the nightmares, he's the picture perfect kid. Did you know that he can actually get Francis dressed within three minutes? It's a miracle!"

"Wow," Matthew said, clearly impressed. "I still can't believe that you agreed though. Honestly, four children? I could never take in another kid. Gil and I have enough trouble looking after our three already."

"That's because you chose to foster a psycho," Alfred told him, and was promptly smacked by his brother.

"Al! Natalia isn't a psycho! She's a very sweet little girl who's just been through some very disturbing stuff!" Matthew defended his youngest child and only daughter.

"Dude, her parent's were both serial killers!" Alfred pointed out.

"That doesn't mean she will be!" Matthew claimed, while gently bouncing Arthur in his arms. Natalia had been in Gilbert and Matthew's family for around six months. She was four and terrifying. She had been put into foster care after her parents were found out to be vicious serial killers that had been wanted for quite some time.

For some creepy reason, Natalia was obsessed with Ivan. Whenever he visited, Natalia would latch herself onto him and not let go no matter what. She never let any of the other kids go near Ivan either. One time when they were visiting she had slapped Arthur hard when he'd tried to climb onto Ivan's lap. Alfred had been absolutely livid. Ivan tried to act kind towards the little girl from Belarus, but it was obvious that she freaked him out. For some odd reason, Matthew and Gilbert adored her, calling her their little princess.

"Whatever you say dude," Alfred said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, you got anything to drink?"

"Coke, lemonade, iced tea, kool aid, whatever you want." Matthew said.

"I want kool aid!" Arthur announced.  
"What do you say?" Alfred prompted.

"Kool aid _please _Uncle Matthew?" Arthur repeated.

"And I'll take a coke," Alfred added.

"Of course," Matthew said, setting Arthur down on the floor. "Why don't you two go into the living room so we can sit down? There's some toys in there too, for Arthur."

"Got it," Alfred said, leading Arthur to the living room. When he got there he saw that Natalia, dressed in a purple nightie, was laying on the carpeted floor watching My Little Pony. She glanced over at them quickly before huffing.

"It's just you two? Where's Uncle Ivan?"

"Working," Alfred informed her. "Hows it going Nat?"

She chose to ignore him and continue watching her show. Arthur hesitated before wandering over towards the toys. He began playing with Ludwig's toy castle. Meanwhile, Matthew returned with the drinks.

"So how's work?" Matthew asked.

"Oh you know, pretty good. I love teaching physical education, all the kids love me!" Alfred boasted, sipping at his soda.

"That's good...oh hey, guess what? Ludwig's getting put into a more advanced math class than his grade level? Isn't that great?"

"Hell yeah! I always knew that kid was smart. I can't believe Toris decided to start school with Feliks. Those two are really close, I think it's great. He's really helping the kid come out of his shell."

"I'm glad," Matthew told him, grinning.

* * *

The rest of the visit went relatively well. Eventually they had to return home though, since Alfred promised Arthur that they could make some cookies, and they needed to get started if they wanted them to be done before school was over.

The cookies turned out pretty good. It took them three attempts for the final results though. The first batch was very salty, thanks to Arthur 'helping' by pouring a bunch of it in. The second batch was too...tomatoey, thanks to Arthur also attempting to help by adding ketchup. After putting Arthur down for a nap, Alfred had made the third batch by himself. Arthur didn't need to know that though.

An hour later when the bus arrived, Alfred and Arthur were out there as promised to greet them. At first Alfred was nervous about how they were feeling, but upon seeing the two boys both smiling as they got off the bus with Francis assured him.

"Welcome back! How was school? Did you have fun? Make friends? Tell me all about it!" He requested excitedly, leading them back inside.

"It was great!" Feliks shouted happily. "At first we were like, really scared! But then our teacher was really nice, and she let us sit next to each other. I got a red chair, and Toris got a yellow chair! Then we got our own name tags for our table!" Feliks told him all in one breath.

"And there's a pet goldfish! His name is Goldie!" Toris added.

"Wow, it sounds like you guys had a lot of fun!" Alfred exclaimed. "So does that mean you're going back tomorrow?"

"Of course we're going back," Feliks said. "Before school was over we got to paint pictures of whatever we wanted! I drew a pony!"

"In art today my class got to make jack o'lanterns out of construction paper. Mine was the best!" Francis said, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"It sounds like everybody had a good day. Me and Artie baked some cookies, come on and get some," Alfred informed them, beckoning everyone over to the table.

"I helped!" Arthur bragged. "Daddy let me put in all the 'grediants!"

For a while the kids snacked on their treats, giving Alfred every single detail about their day, from what their teacher looked like, all the way to how many pencils there were in the classroom. Alfred listened joyfully, so happy that everything had turned out well. He'd half expected the school calling to tell them that Toris had gotten a nervous breakdown or something.

Ivan got home just as Alfred began skinning the potatoes for dinner, since tonight was roast beef, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

"Where are my two kindergarteners?" He called as soon as he came inside. Feliks, followed by Toris, ran over and proceeded to tell about their day all over again. Ivan listened intently while coming into the kitchen to help Alfred with dinner.

"Goodness, it seems like you had an adventurous day." Ivan commented once they were done tell him. "I am glad that you ended up liking it."

During dinner there was a little problem, which happened to have been Francis and Arthur. They got into an argument again, though that was not uncommon. This fight was just a tad more severe. Arthur had been the one to initiate this one though.

"You're a frog Francis!" Arthur had spurted out randomly with a giggle in the middle of dinner time.

"Stop calling me that!" Francis shouted.

"...Frog..." Arthur whispered.

"I said stop!" Francis screeched.

"Arthur, stop that right now," Ivan warned. "We told you not to call him that."

"You're just a stupid whiny baby!" Francis tacked on, crossing his arms.

"I am NOT a baby!" Arthur shouted, hurling one a handful of mashed potatoes at his older brother. It hit Francis square in the chest, causing the six year old to shriek.

"Arthur! That's a big no!" Alfred scolded. "We _do not _throw food!"

The situation was not under control though. Before anyone could do anything, Francis threw a piece of broccoli at Arthur, which thankfully didn't make as much of a mess as the potatoes, but still. Arthur then picked up his cup of milk (At dinner time he got to be a big boy and use a normal cup) and hurled it at Francis, causing milk to splatter all over the table as well as the people sitting at it.

"That is quite enough!" Ivan yelled. "Francis, go change and shower in me and Alfred's bathroom. Arthur, you go to your room and sit on your bed. Both of you get early bedtimes tonight."

"NO!" and "Papa I didn't start it!" Francis and Arthur both protested at once.

"Right now," Alfred added sternly. At first they obediently rose from their seats and headed towards the stairs. Halfway out of the kitchen though, Francis stuck his tongue out at the three year old, and in response Arthur struck at him.

Quicker than lightning, Ivan got out of his seat. He quickly picked up Arthur, who started bawling, and ordered Francis to go take his shower. Francis was smart and did as he was told. Ivan meanwhile carried Arthur upstairs to his room, setting him on his bed.

"You sit right here until we finish dinner. Then you are getting a bath, and then bed." He told Arthur calmly, before leaving the room.

The rest of dinner was pretty awkward. Both Feliks and Toris had never seen Alfred and Ivan discipline before. Though he was still a little frightened, Toris was also a little happy. He had been expecting Francis and Arthur to get beaten, but instead all they got was early bedtimes. That was hardly even a punishment in Toris's book. It made him begin to trust his new parents a bit more. As they ate they could hear Arthur crying upstairs.

"Well...that sure got out of hand. Usually they don't throw food," Alfred said with a chuckle. "I don't wanna clean up this big mess."

"You can give Arthur his bath then, I'll take care of cleanup." Ivan told him.

"Got it," Alfred said, bringing his dishes to the sink.

It was only seven, so Toris and Feliks were allowed to go play. When Francis was showered and into his pajamas, Ivan went to put him to bed.

"Arthur is a brat! I wish he wasn't my brother." Francis stated as he begrudgingly allowed Ivan to tuck him in.

"That is not a very nice thing to say. Arthur is still very little. I don't think he meant any harm when he called you a frog. I do agree though, he shouldn't have. Next time you just ignore him and let us deal with Arthur."

"Okay," Francis agreed. "At least he has to go to bed early too."

* * *

"Honestly Artie, you wouldn't be in trouble if you hadn't of thrown food everywhere." Alfred said with a sigh as he scrubbed the toddler's hair.

"B-but he_ is_ a frog!" Arthur claimed, sniffling as he sat in the tub.

"Oh buddy," Alfred shook his head. "Look, just calm down okay? Next time don't act like that at the dinner tale. It's not exactly showing the best manners..."

"I don't care! I wanna be big like Francis!" Arthur wailed.

"What?" Alfred asked, confused at Arthur's random topic change.

"I-I wanna!" Arthur said, tears increasing. "Make me older! Please!"

"Aw crap...Artie, I can't make you older dude. You will be someday, I swear."

"I wanna be older _now_!"

"You get older every second. Then tomorrow you'll be a day older, and next week you'll be a week older, and so on. You know what I mean?"

"No!"

The rest of the bath didn't get any better. Ivan ended up trying to get Arthur to sleep while Alfred went downstairs to see what Toris and Feliks were up to. He found then sprawled out on the den floor, tons of army men set up surrounding them.

"Wow, looks like you guys got a pretty epic battle going on here."

"I know! My side is winning though," Feliks said.

"Nuh-uh. I'm winning." Toris protested.

"Maybe it'll be a tie." Alfred winked. A little while later Ivan came downstairs, informing him that Arthur had finally fell asleep.

"I think he's just upset because he feels left out, about school and all. We jut have to try and understand." Ivan told him.

"Yeah, you're right. Poor little guy...I'm gonna take him to work with me on Wednesday, he loves that. Then he can brag about going to a big kid Middle School." Alfred replied.

"That's a good idea." Ivan agreed. "I'm sure he will enjoy it."

So maybe the night hadn't ended the best, but things were still okay, and they always would be. No family is perfect. Secretly Alfred thought that if Arthur and Francis didn't argue sometimes, then things would be a little more boring. It didn't matter if his children fought, cried, or threw tantrums. They would always still love them no matter what.

**a/n: Hey guys...I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as good/humorous as the others. I haven't been in good spirits lately...my cousins seem to love to torment me _:^(_ These are the times in which I wish I was 18 so I could move out of my aunt and uncle's house...Anyways, I was hiding down in my room all day so I typed most of this on my iPod, so there may be some grammar errors. Lemme know if there are any horrible ones please.** **I know I promised to respond to reviews this chapter, but I really just want to get this updated so I can go back downstairs. **

**Thank you for reading and liking this story. It really means a lot to me. I'll try to get another chapter on soon, possibly this weekend.  
**

**Review if you want, and again, I'm sorry if this chapter really sucks.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

_Important question to ask you guys at the end of the chapter!_

Alfred was not able to fall asleep tonight. He had been laying awake next to Ivan, eyes staring at the ceiling for the past hour and a half. At first he hadn't understood why something felt so off, but then he knew. No little feet had padded into the room. It was just him and Ivan...so empty. It was weird, because he'd had nights alone with Ivan before. Tonight he just craved being close to his children though.

Unable to sit still in bed, he climbed out and walked towards the door and into the hallway. The hallways was lit up by a night light, to he was able to make out all the doors. The first door he made it to was Francis's. It was cracked open, and he slipped his head in.

Francis was sound asleep, hugging his pillow tightly, breathing softly. Alfred felt his lips tug into a smile. The little first grader would always hold a special place in his heart, just like all the other kids. His memory flashed back to when they'd first gotten Francis, when he was four. The child, who had not known one word of English, yet still as soon as he'd seen his new parents, the boy had ran towards them for a hug.

He left Francis's room and headed towards the room across; Toris and Feliks' room. The door was all the way open for them. As soon as he entered he stifled laughter. Sprawled out on his bed was Feliks, the pillow discarded on the floor, and the blanket half hanging off. Toris however was the complete opposite, burrowed so deeply into his blanket that you could only see a bit of hair peeking out.

Alfred walked over to Feliks's bed, picking up the pillow and carefully placing it under the boy's head, and also replacing the blanket back on him. He kissed his forehead before tiptoeing over to do the same to Toris. Those boys were really starting to grow on him. Neither one had been in their family that long, but already there was no way that the family would be complete without them.

His last stop was Arthur's room. The blue walls had sailboats painted on them, which were lit up due to the peter rabbit themed night light. His littlest baby had a thumb in his mouth, curled up in a small ball at the foot of his bed. The American couldn't help but go 'aw' under his breath. Arthur was the cutest baby ever. He didn't care if Arthur denied it. To him and Ivan, Arthur would forever be their cute little British baby no matter what.

Soon Alfred felt himself yawn, and decided that maybe he would be able to actually go to sleep now. He quietly returned to his room and slipped back in the bed beside his sound asleep husband.

An hour later all four children joined them in bed.

* * *

The weather was now colder due to it being October. Alfred, ever so festive during the Halloween season, decorated the house from top to bottom. Fake cobwebs, gravestones, and all that stuff. Alfred was always the festive type, while Ivan sometimes thought that he went a bit overboard.  
Also, tonight was Francis's play that he had been so excited about. Francis was already at the school with his class while they set things up. Meanwhile at home, the family was getting ready to go see the play. It was a bit of a hassle. They had just finished dinner, and Ivan was digging around in the closet trying to find the video camera, the kids were getting into their outdoor stuff, and so on.

"Where did my other shoe go?" Feliks asked, hopping around with only one sneaker on.

"I think I last saw it under the couch, dude." Alfred, who was zippering Arthur's jacket, answered him.

"Aha! I found it!" Ivan called, referring to the video camera that he'd been searching for, for the past hour.

"We've only got fifteen minutes till it starts, we gotta hurry!" Alfred shouted, while now helping Toris tie his shoes. Finally they made it out to the car, hardly getting a chance to buckle in before Alfred started driving.

"We get to see Francis the frog!" Arthur cheered.

"That's right Artie. This time Francis actually will be a frog." Alfred agreed with him.

"But once the play is over then you are not allowed to call him a frog." Ivan added.

"I've never seen a play before," Feliks commented. "This is going to be fun, right Toris? We can tell everyone that we know the main star of the show! I bet Francis will be famous now. Do you think he'll be on TV?"

"Maybe Feliks, you never know," Alfred chuckled.

When they got to the school, which was crowded from the cars of all the other children's families, they had to hurry in order to make it to the gym in time, which was where the play was taking place. Thankfully it hadn't started yet, so they had made it in time.

"Oh look, I see some seats over there!" Alfred pointed. They made their way towards them, quickly sitting down just as the lights began to dim. Arthur sat on Ivan's lap so they he would be able to see. Alfred sat next to Ivan, and then Toris and Feliks sat next to him.

The play went relatively well. It was an hour and a half long, which was a little bit long for Arthur. Wanting to move around, the three year old was constantly switching from lap to lap, and complaining about wanting to get down every so often.

Francis did great, or as great as any six year old would be at saying lines that he'd had to memorize from a play. He was wearing all green clothes, and his face had been painted too.  
After the play had ended, there were refreshments served. Francis joined his family once again, and Alfred crushed him into a hug.

"You did awesome dude!"' He congratulated him.

"Merci!" Francis replied. "That was fun! I hope we have another play soon."

"We should ask the teacher is our class can have a play too Toris!" Feliks said to Toris excitedly as they scoped out the food table, where there were cookies, cupcakes, and Hawaiian Punch. Toris nodded before hesitantly reaching for one of the Oreo cookies. Before he could grab it though, some older kid shoved into him, in order to get in front.

"Hey! You like, totally shoved into _my _brother!" Feliks shouted before he even realized what he was doing.

"So what? he was taking too long," The kid replied, before finishing grabbing his sweets and leaving. Toris looked like he was about to cry, and so Feliks patted his arm.

"Come on, let's go." He said, grabbing an Oreo and handing it to Toris before leading them back to their family. Ivan was holding Arthur, who was licking the frosting off the top of a cupcake. Next to him, Alfred was chatting with a parent about baseball. Francis had just said goodbye to some of his classmates and was now standing next to Ivan.

"Hey guys, reading to start heading home?" Alfred greeted them one they came over. "It's almost past your guys's bedtimes."

Feliks, suddenly beginning to feel tired, held his arms out to Alfred, who didn't hesitate to swoop him up into one of his arms. With his free arm he picked up Toris as well. Francis, not wanting to be left on foot, climbed on Ivan's back. Together, the family made their way out to the car.

* * *

Because the next day was Saturday, they mostly took it easy. The sun was peaking out, and Francis suggested that they ride bikes. Alfred readily agreed that this was a great idea, and so they all bundled up with their coats and prepared for a walk/ride around the block.

They had bought bikes for each of the boys. Francis was the only one who was able to ride without training wheels, but he was still a little wobbly, which was why he wore knee and elbow pads too, along with a helmet of course.

Ivan and Alfred had their arms linked, walked next to Arthur, who was clumsily peddling his small little bike. Toris was still very new to bike riding as well. Feliks, who already knew how to pedal and steer, was coaching Toris as he rode alongside him.

"I love this," Alfred suddenly blurted out to Ivan, who raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean seriously dude...everything. Just look at what we've done Ivan! We're raising four amazing kids, we have a family. Just think, we would probably still live quiet, boring lives if we hadn't of joined that fostering program."

"Da, I agree," Ivan replied, "It was certainly worth it."

For a moment the couple just watched their children. Francis was leading their trail, yelling at Feliks and Toris that they were slowpokes. Feliks took that as a challenge and began going faster, leaving a panicked Toris behind, who desperately tried to catch up. Arthur was in the same boat as Toris, struggling to go faster so that he could catch up to the older kids.

When they got back home, Matthew called and invited them all over for lunch. Apparently Gilbert was going to be grilling for the last time before the colder weather and holidays came. Besides, they still hadn't met Feliks yet.

"Uncle Mathieu and Uncle Gilbert's house is really fun!" Francis was telling Feliks in the car as they drove there. "Feliciano and Ludwig have a lot of cool toys. You just have to stay away from Natalia though."

"How come?" Feliks wondered.

"Because she's a meanie!" Arthur explained.

"Alright you two, that's enough," Ivan said to Francis and Arthur. "Natalia is a sweet little girl...just a bit clingy I suppose. And defensive. And possessive..."

"Of sure, that sounds totally sweet," Alfred said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

When they arrived, Gilbert was out on the porch grilling burgers and sausage, Matthew standing next to him.

"Oh hey guys!" Matthew greeted them cheerfully. "Come on up here. Lunch is almost done."

"Mattie, Gilbert, I'd like you guys to meet Feliks!" Alfred introduced them to their newest kid. Feliks, feeling a little shy, ducked behind Alfred's leg.

"Hi Feliks, it's nice to meet you," Matthew greeted him kindly.

"Hi kid, welcome to the family." Gilbert added. "Hope you like wurst!"

"The kids are inside, come on," Matthew told them, leading them through the front door and into the kitchen. They saw Feliciano sitting in a chair, humming as he colored a picture with come crayons.

"Veee, you're here!" He shouted happily. "Come color with me Francis! Luddie didn't want to when I asked him."

"Feli, Ludwig doesn't have to color with you all the time you know." Matthew softly reminded him. Francis was quick to sit down and begin his own picture. Yes, those two were certainly the artists in the family.

"Natalia, Ludwig, they're here!" Matthew called into the living room. It only took a few seconds before Natalia raced into the room, screaming 'Uncle Ivan!' Ivan looked a bit scared, and he set Arthur, who he had been holding, down onto the floor just before Natalia jumped into his arms.

"Uncle Ivan, I've decided that I'm going to marry you," She told him seriously. Ivan blinked.

"Ah, I am very sorry little one, but I am already married to Alfred." He explained, glaring at Alfred and Matthew, who were chuckling. Natalia meanwhile, gave Alfred a very dirty look.

"You can't marry my father!" Arthur added in horror. "I wont let you!"

"Yes I will! Just you wait!" Natalia shouted back at him.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Matthew said. "Feliciano, can you and Francis color in the living room? I need to set the table up for lunch."

"Why don't you guys all go into the living room until we get the food ready?" Alfred suggested. Once the kids, minus Natalia, had left, they began getting things set up. Gilbert by now had brought in a plate filled with wurst and burgers. Matthew dug around in the fridge for condiments, and Alfred began pouring drinks.

"Feliks seems like a great kid Al, you were right," Matthew said, as he observed the kids in the living room, who were all playing with some of Ludwig's toy soldiers.

"I know, he fits in great!" Alfred replied. "He's been by far the easiest to adjust to things. Sometimes I wonder though, you know, if he'll ever have a breakdown."

"It is possible," Matthew agreed. "But maybe he wont. Just keep doing what you're doing, then I'm sure he'll be okay."

"Yeah. He's also really helping Toris. Honestly, since Feliks arrived the kid has smiled more times than I can count." Alfred said, remembering how hard it had been to get Toris to smile before that.

"Listen Al, you're a really great parent. I'm sorry that I ever doubted you before." Matthew suddenly told him softly.

"Thanks Mattie. You're not that bad of a parent yourself." Alfred replied.

He couldn't help but beam while thinking of their beautiful kids.

**a/n: After reading some of your reviews, I found out that some of you really liked the idea of me writing about some of the children's pasts, particularly Arthur and Francis. So, what would you guys say to me starting a couple of short stories about those two guy's stories, like maybe how their pasts were and then how they first got fostered by Ivan and Alfred? What do you guys think? Whose story do you want me to start with, Arthur's or Francis's?**

**By the way, this story is drawing close to ending. Just two or three more chapters. Sorry this chapter was so much shorter than the rest!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

"Arthur, can't you at least try the apple sauce?" Alfred pleaded. "Look how yummy it is!"

"No, not yummy," Arthur answered firmly. "I want a go-gurt!"

"You had a go-gurt earlier. Now it's time for a healthy snack. How about this, I'll give you two choices. Applesauce or strawberries?" Alfred said. He remembered in some online parent article that it always helped giving your three year old choices.

"Go-gurt," Arthur chose. Alfred face palmed.

"Go-gurt isn't a choice bud," He informed him.

"Why?"

"Because," Alfred answered.

"Why?" Arthur repeated.

"Because dude. Those things have sugar, which get you all crazy. Tomorrow you can have one. For now you can have apple sauce or strawberries. Which one?" Alfred asked him. He knew that Arthur probably wouldn't choose the applesauce, due to his dislike to anything apple flavored besides apple juice, which they were actually running low on. They really needed to take a trip to the grocery store soon.

Arthur was actually a pretty good eater. He would eat most everything set in front of him, so long as it didn't relate to apples. However, sometimes he would only have his mind set on one food, and refuse the others, even if he liked them. Dr. Elizaveta had told them that this was normal for kids Arthur's age though, and just not to give into him.

Francis was probably their most pickiest eater. He was much better than when they'd first gotten him though. He would refuse almost every plate set in front of him, and only request snack foods like cakes and pastries. It didn't help that they had given into him often, since he had been their first child and they had still been new to parenting.

Toris ate everything put in front of him, or at least most of it. Even things that Alfred knew he didn't enjoy, like Brussels sprouts, he would still eat them up without complaint. Feliks...he was an intermediate eater. Though he ate most stuff, he also never hesitated to refuse things he didn't like. It was funny that Alfred and Ivan knew all of the children's eating habits.

"Can I have a go-gurt?" Francis asked.

"Francis buddy, what makes you think I'll let you have a go-gurt if I just said no to Arthur?" Alfred asked, exasperated.  
"Because I'm older...and better...and smarter." The six year old answered reason after reason.

"Francis, that's not very nice," Alfred reprimanded him quickly before Arthur could start shouting and arguing with Francis. They didn't need another battle today. "Why don't you go outside and help papa? Or play with Toris and Feliks."

Ivan was doing some yard work. Since it was now fall, leaves were covering the yard all over. Ivan was raking most the the front lawn, as well as trimming some of the shrubs. They really didn't care about the leaves in the backyard. Mostly they just let the kids play with them. For instance, right now Feliks and Toris were in the back yard, raking leaves into piles and then destroying them.

"Can I play?" Arthur asked.

"Sorry bud, but after snack time, it's nappy time." Alfred told him

"No nap..." Arthur pouted.

"Yes nap," Alfred told him. Did they always have this same conversation whenever nap time came around? "Remember Arthur, if you don't have your nap then you'll be cranky for the rest of the day."

"You should make him take a nap all day," Francis suggested.

"NO NAP!" Arthur argued loudly, pounding a small hand on the counter that was nearby.

"Francis, go play outside." Alfred instructed. "Arthur, choose your snack."

Meanwhile outside, Toris and Feliks had just finished raking a big pile of leaves. It was hard work. They only had one rake, and it was quite large and heavy to hold. They had took turns with the raking, but it still made their hands hurt. Slowly Toris felt the pain increase, and looked down at his hands to see that a few blisters had formed.

"I'm tired, let's go see if we can get a drink." Feliks suddenly said, discarding the rake on the ground.

"Yeah, I'm really thirsty," Toris agreed. They headed back towards the front of the lawn, where Ivan was trimming the bushes nearby the front door. Francis was helping by plucking some of the small weeds near where the flower patches were.

"Done raking already?" Ivan asked them.

"We got tired." Feliks answered him.

"Ah, I see. Raking can be hard work." Ivan agreed. "Go on inside and rest up then."

When they got inside they headed into the kitchen, where Alfred was finishing up cleaning Arthur's hands and face from sticky strawberry juice.

"Oh hey guys, finally back inside huh?" Alfred greeted them.

"Can we have a drink?" Feliks asked.

"Sure thing," Alfred said, getting two cups down from the cupboard and handing them over. "I'll be back in a sec, I just gotta get Arthur settled down for his nap. Do you think you can handle pouring your own drinks?"

"We can do it," Toris told him, with Feliks nodding in agreement.

"Okie dokie then," Alfred responded, before carrying a pouting Arthur out of the room. The boys didn't waste any time in going over to the fridge and opening it to inspect what there was to drink. There was milk, iced tea, and a small amount of apple juice.

"Let's have milk," Feliks suggested, grasping the handle of the heavy milk carton and heaving it out of the fridge. It almost slipped from his grasp.

"Careful!" Toris warned him. Feliks lugged the carton over to the table, where the cups were set down.

"You pour it," Feliks said, pushing it into Toris's hands unexpectedly.

"Wait!" Toris cried, but it was too late. He tried to grip onto the heavy carton, but the blisters on his hands started to really hurt from the pressure. He gasped, and by mistake the entire carton of milk dropped to the floor, breaking open.

For a moment both boys were stunned. The milk had gotten all over their clothes, and was slowly spreading into a large puddle on the floor. Finally Toris registered what had happened and instantly began to panic.

"We're going to be in trouble!" He whimpered, tears forming in his eyes. "All of the milk...it's gone. They're going to be so mad!"

"We didn't do it on purpose." Feliks tried to reassure him, but he himself was beginning to feel a little scared. Alfred and Ivan wouldn't really be mad, right?

"What if they get rid of us? I don't wanna go back!" Toris cried. Not only was he terrified, but two of the blisters on his right hand had popped, and they hurt!

"Calm down, we can fix it!" Feliks told him. "Um...you wipe up the milk, and I'll distract dad. Feliks had began calling Ivan and Alfred Father and Dad just recently. It had made both adults ecstatic. Toris had not yet come to this stage.

"Even if we hide it, they'll notice the milk is gone." Toris pointed out in between cries.

"Maybe they won't notice. Now hurry up and clean," Feliks ordered, before darting out of the room to distract Alfred, who would probably be coming back any minute. Just as expected, the American quietly came out of Arthur's room, and running into his Polish child on the stairs.

"Hey Feliks, what are you doing up here? Did you guys finish your drinks?" Alfred asked casually.

"Um...I need to go pee." Feliks lied.

"Oh, okay then!" Alfred replied cheerfully, before starting to head further down the stairs.

"Wait!" Feliks blurted out. "You can't go downstairs yet!"

"Huh? How come?" Alfred asked in confusion.

"Um...because I have to show you something in my room," Feliks answered.

"Didn't you have to go pee?" Alfred pointed out, eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't gotta go anymore. Now come see!" Feliks said, grabbing his new dad's hand and tugging him back up the stairs.

"Something about this seems fishy...but okay!" Alfred responded cheerfully, allowing Feliks to lead him into he and Toris's bedroom. Gosh, kids could be so weird! Weird, but totally adorable.

Meanwhile, Ivan had come back inside to grab a quick drink of water. After all, yard work took a lot of energy. He was definitely going to make Alfred finish up the rest of the raking tomorrow. Honestly, his American lover could be lazy sometimes. He preferred Ivan to do all the hard tasks, claiming that someone (himself) needed to make sure that Arthur didn't get into trouble.

When he stepped into the kitchen though, he was greeted by a surprising sight. The floor was covered with milk, and Toris was clumsily trying to wipe it up with paper towels in a great hurry.

"What on earth happened?" Ivan asked in concern. Toris jumped about a mile and a half at the sound of Ivan's voice and spun around, lip trembling.

"We didn't m-mean to! It was j-just heavy, and my hand hurt!" He tried explaining, hiccuping and sobbing, thinking that Ivan was going to beat him or something. At his old home...he would have been punished terribly. Instead though, Ivan came over and reached his hands out. Toris flinched, thinking he was going to be hit, but was instead picked up.

"Shhh, you're okay," Ivan murmured, holding his boy against his chest. "It was only an accident."

Toris was shocked, but allowed himself to be comforted.

"Where is Feliks?" Ivan asked after a moment.

"D-distracting Alfred," Toris replied, a bit calmed down. His breathing was still shuddering a bit, but at least most of the tears had stopped.

"Distracting Alfred?" Ivan asked, a bit amused. "Listen little one, next time something like this happens you don't need to be afraid. Just come get one of us. We would never punish you."

"O-okay...sorry," Toris muttered.

"Do not apologize if you have nothing to be sorry for," Ivan told him. "Now why don't we go find Alfred and Feliks?"

Upstairs meanwhile, Feliks had been trying desperately to distract Alfred. His idea of distracting meant showing Alfred every single toy and/or article of clothing that he and Toris owned. Alfred and been trying to smile, but he was growing quite bored. He also had a feeling that the little guy was trying to hide something.

"...And this is my blue sock! I'm not sure where the other one is...oh, but I also have some red socks! And I think Toris has some green ones!"

"...That's awesome dude. Um, don't you have something better to do than show me your socks?" Alfred asked nicely.

"Relax Feliks, I know what happened. You boy's aren't in trouble." Ivan suddenly said from the doorway, Toris still in his arms.

"You do?"

"What happened?"

Feliks and Alfred asked at the same time.

"They accidentally spilled the milk carton downstairs," Ivan explained to Alfred first, before then replying to Feliks question. "And yes, I found out what happened. It was an accident, so there was no need to hide it."

"Whew! That's like, a really big relief," Feliks sighed happily. "Now I don't have to be the distractor! Can I go play now?"

"Of course. Just remember to tell us next time you need help rather than hiding it." Ivan answered.

"The same goes for you too," Alfred added to Toris.

"Okay. I really didn't mean to though. My blisters got popped and it dropped cause it hurt." Toris responded.

"Blisters? Let me me," Ivan said, gently prying the boy's hands open. "Oh my, that looks painful. Let's go get these cleaned and bandaged. Alfred, go clean up the milk please."

"What, why do I have to clean up the milk?" Alfred whined childishly.

"Consider it payback for making me do the yard work."

* * *

Later that night, both Feliks and Toris had received baths and were dressed in their pajamas, sitting on the couch and watching SpongeBob. Francis was in the kitchen with Ivan practicing simple addition and subtraction for his homework. Toris was glad that kindergarteners didn't have homework. Next year though, when they were first graders, they would probably have to do addition and subtraction too.

Toris's hands didn't hurt anymore. Ivan had been really careful, and put antibiotics and bandages on his popped blisters. It hadn't even stung that much! Maybe Ivan wasn't as scary as he'd thought...after all, he hadn't been made, and he'd make the hurt on his hands go away.

Alfred was laying on the living room floor with Arthur, trying to do a puzzle with him. Arthur was more interested in stacking up the pieces and then destroying the pile though.

The more Toris just saw what a normal family he had, the more he really began to appreciate being fostered. It was so unusual being loved and cared about. He was glad that he had two parents who cared for him. He was also glad for having three new wonderful brothers. It worked out just great. An older brother, a younger brother, and a brother who was just the same age as him.

Perfect.

**a/n: Wow, so many reviews last chapter. I love you guys!**

**Only 1 or 2 chapters left. **

**Btw, It's been decided that I will first do Francis's story, and then** **Arthur, and then perhaps Toris and Feliks. **

**Seriously, is it weird that I love parental Alfred and Ivan so much? Like, I've never been into RusAme until I started imagining them as parents. So then combining that, along with little Arthur, well it's just so much fun to write!  
**

**I also might write little one-shots on this family every once in awhile, if you all don't mind.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Winter Days

Over two months had passed since the whole milk incident. Now it was the month of December, and everyone was in good holiday spirits. This was a special Christmas, since it would be Feliks and Toris's first one here with them. There was much snow covering the ground, which had kept the kids busy through most of December.

Each day though would play outside for hours, returning inside only when Alfred and Ivan made them. Their cheeks would be flushed with cold, mittens soaked from melted snow. Then of course came the time for hot chocolate, with lots of marshmallows!

A large Christmas tree (Ivan had chopped it down himself) was set up in the corner of the living room, crazily decorated with tons of garland and homemade ornaments. Only a few presents were underneath it, but soon of course there would be tons of presents. Alfred and Ivan had kept most of the stuff hidden in the basement and in the back of their closets. Ivan wasn't the best at wrapping presents, so Alfred did most of it.

Another thing; Ivan and Toris were a lot closer now. He really had complete trust in Ivan, just as much as he trusted Alfred. It made the atmosphere much more comfortable now. Toris was also much more open, talking, laughing, and smiling daily. All of his scary memories from the past were slowly fading away; happy memories from his new family taking their place.

Currently they were all at the local mall, to take the kids to see Santa and get pictures. Alfred was especially hoping to get a picture of Arthur this year. Last year, their first year with him, it did not go so well. The toddler had been frightened of sitting on a stranger's lap, so they could not get any good pictures. Hopefully this year would be different.

Toris had never gotten to do something like this before, which left him both excited and nervous. Feliks seemed to be really joyful about the whole thing. He had about a million things that he wanted Santa to bring this year. Toris however, had never celebrated a Christmas before. Back at his old home, Santa had never left any presents. His old caretakers had said it was because he was a naughty boy who didn't deserve anything. Alfred and Ivan had both assured him that this was completely untrue though.

The mall was a busy place, because everyone needed to do their holiday shopping of course. All of the noise made Toris a little uncomfortable. He was holding hands with Feliks, who was holding hands with Alfred. It was a rule that they had to since it was easy to get lost. Francis was holding Ivan's hand and trying to tug them faster towards the Santa Claus area faster. Arthur was of course being held, but kept insisting to be let down. Ivan told him to wait though, because Arthur was so small that he could get lost even more easier than the other children.

Finally they made it...only to see a huge line of other children already waiting

"Aw shit," Alfred grumbled.

"Alfred, language!" Ivan reprimanded him. "It probably won't take that long."

"Dude, look," Alfred said, pointing to a 45 minute waiting sign. "Maybe we should just come back another day."

"Non! I want to see Santa!" Francis protested, stomping his foot.

"Me too!" Feliks added.

"Then it's settled, we'll wait." Ivan decided. Alfred, who was certainly not one for patience, sighed. Honestly, he was worse than the children sometimes.

The wait was long and boring. It had only been ten minutes, and already Alfred felt like it had been ten hours. His stomach was also grumbling, especially since he could smell the scents of the food court, which was nearby. He knew that Ivan would never let him leave the line just to go get food for himself...which was where Arthur came in.

"Ivan, Arthur looks kinda hungry. How about I take him to go get a snack? We can bring some back for the others too, that'll give them something to do while waiting." Alfred suggested.

"But I figured that we could just get lunch at the food court after we're done with Santa," Ivan pointed out.

"Well yeah, but a little snack won't hurt. Come on babe, it's the holidays!" Alfred whined.

"Can I go too?" Toris asked, wanting to move his feet around a little. They were starting to fall asleep from just standing there.

"Of course you can buddy," Alfred answered.

"Alright...but be quick about it. We'll hold your spot," Ivan said, passing Arthur over to Alfred. The American cheered on the inside, grabbing Toris's hand and rushing away from the crowded line of many squealing children. Thankfully the food court had a McDonald's, which would of course be their first stop.

"Daddy I wanna get down," Arthur told him, squirming a bit.

"Wait till we get in line Art, then I'll let you down," Alfred promised. Thankfully the fast food line wasn't nearly as long as the Santa line. He set the three year old down on the floor next to Toris.

"Stay right next to me, okay?" Alfred instructed, so both boys nodded. Alfred meanwhile, scanned over the menu as he tried to decide what he was hungry for.

"Train!" Arthur all in the sudden called out excitedly. Toris followed his gaze and saw that the younger child was staring at the mall train, which was a train that children could ride around the mall on for a sum of money.

"Maybe we can go on it later if we're good," Toris suggested to his younger brother.  
"I want to go on now," Arthur told him. "Let's go ride the train!"

"Wait, we're supposed to stay here," Toris reminded him quietly, seeing as it looked like Alfred had not heard their conversation yet.

"But the train is going bye-bye. I'll be right back." Arthur said. Before Toris could say anything more, Arthur lept out of the line.

"Wait Arthur don't!" Toris hissed. He was saved however, for suddenly two hands came down and swept Arthur up before he could take off.

"You're not going anywhere Arthur. I told you to stay right here." Alfred said sternly. "The mall is full of evil strangers who won't hesitate to kidnap you!"

'_Kidnappers?'_Toris thought to himself uneasily, glancing around at all the random people walking. They looked normal...nobody looked like a kidnapper. Then again, what did a kidnapper even look like?

"I want down!" Arthur demanded loudly, breaking Toris from his thoughts.

"You don't get to anymore," Alfred told him. "You were about to run off."

"I'll be a good boy," Arthur said softly, giving Alfred that cute innocent look with his large adorable green eyes. Alfred sucked in a breath, internally trying not to fall for the sweet look. Of course he failed though, and sighed.

"Okay, you get one more chance."

Thankfully Arthur didn't try to go chase after any trains this time around. Alfred ended up ordering two McDoubles, a medium fry, and a large coke for himself. After that they went to the small little bakery booth that was next to the McDonald's, and got a cookie for each of the kids. Arthur was given the job of holding the cookie bag.

When they got back to the line, Alfred was relieved to see that now it was almost time for the kids to see Santa, they were just a few kids behind.

"What happened to getting a 'little snack?'" Ivan asked, eyebrow raised as he saw how much McDonald's his husband had picked up.

"I said that I'd get the kids a little snack, not me!" Alfred defended himself, shoving three fries into his mouth. Ivan could only sigh. Meanwhile, Francis, Feliks, and Toris ate their cookies while waiting. Arthur had of course already eaten his.

"Your turn Francis. Go on up to Santa," Ivan finally said, seeing that they were next. Francis walked up confidently and quickly climbed into the large beard wielding man's lap. Alfred grinned as he watched their oldest tell Santa of all the things he desired. There were professional photographers to take pictures, and each picture cost $20.00 per child, which Alfred through was a bit expensive.

Luckily for them though, there was a fifty percent off discount for children under five. Alfred made up a little white lie and said that Toris and Feliks were both still four...and they believed him. After all, neither child was very tall for their age. Feliks was especially short. So really they didn't have to pay nearly as much.

Feliks and Toris ended up getting their picture taken together, as they were both a bit nervous about sitting on a stranger's lap. Feliks had thought he would be excited, but once it was his turn he had hesitated and tried to stay back, which really didn't help Toris's confidence at all. Thankfully Ivan had convinced them, and so they went.

Arthur...he had made things complicated. He'd been completely silent up until he was actually sitting on Santa's lap and the guy had spoken to him. Then Ivan and Alfred both cringed as they saw his face scrunch up in what would probably be a fit of waterworks. The volunteer elves saw this coming, and allowed Arthur to jump off of Santa and run back towards his parents. Before he reached the exit though, he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"I wanna train please!" He yelled out loud enough to be heard, before ducking behind Ivan's legs.

Many people who had been watch laughed, Alfred and Ivan included. Well...at least he hadn't thrown a tantrum this year.

* * *

"Papa, hurry up!" Francis urged to his parent, staring down the white snowy hill with excitement. This weekend Ivan and Alfred had taken them to the winter carnival, which was a place that had many different sledding hills, and ice skating rink, and a booth that sold snow cones and hot chocolate.

"I...I'm h-hurrying..." Ivan puffed, breathing heavily as he lugged the large blow up snow tube on his back. Jeez, maybe he was getting out of shape. Francis didn't seem tired at all, despite the fact that they had traveled up the largest sledding hill that there was.

"Come on, let's go!" Francis said eagerly once Ivan had set the snow tube in the correct position. Ivan took a few more deep breaths before sitting down in the tube and lifting Francis into his lap. It took him a second to get them moving, but once they did there was no stopping them.

"Oh my god...I think I'm going to lose my lunch," Ivan muttered to himself as they sped down the hill very fast, even going over a few mini snow jumps. Francis seemed to be having the time of his life, squealing with laughter.

Once they had reached the bottom, Ivan just stayed laying in the tube for a moment, eyes closed. Francis however, climbed out and grabbed into Ivan's hand with his own mittened ones, jumping up and down.

"Again Papa, again!" He demanded. Ivan groaned.

"Nyet, let Papa take a break for a moment. Why don't we go meet up with the rest of the family." Ivan suggested. Alfred had taken the three younger ones to the kids section, where there were mini tunnels and snow forts to climb around in. For of like a winter wonderland playground.

"Hey babe, how was the sledding?" Alfred asked once they had found him. He was standing with some other parents, watching as the kids played together.

"It was...fun filled beyond belief." Ivan replied dryly. Alfred laughed, patting his lover on the arm.

"Why don't you take over here for a bit? I'll sled a couple of hills with Francis," Alfred suggested lightly.

"That sounds wonderful. Let's meet back up in twenty minutes and have hot coco, da?" Ivan replied.

"Sounds awesome," Alfred replied. "Now come on Francis buddy, let's go!"

Ivan shook his head as he watched Alfred and Francis run off together. Seriously, how was Alfred able to have so much energy? Well, probably because he was a gym teacher and exercised daily.

"Hi father!" Arthur waved to him from on top of one of the snow forts. He looked pretty adorable dressed in his large puffy snowsuit. Ivan waved back and then tried to find the other two little rascals. Feliks and Toris were a little bit away, having a snowball fight with a few other kids.

Eventually Alfred and Francis returned, and they all went to get some hot chocolate. By now they had been there for a few hours, and the kids were all getting a little tired. Alfred figured that after they went ice skating for a bit, then they could go home.

Ice skating...now that was something Ivan excelled at. During high school he had been on the ice hockey team. It was his favorite sport, which gave him something to talk to Matthew about, since he loved it too.

The outdoor rink was a little crowded. They had rented skates, and now Alfred was holding Arthur's hand as he carefully got the three year old onto the slippery ice.

"Careful now," Ivan warned, as he himself helped Feliks and Toris onto the ice. Francis himself had a little bit more skill, but still preferred to clutch onto Alfred's other hand. Feliks was a bit daring, moving his feet a little. Toris however stayed stiff, clutching onto Ivan's arm tightly. He had never been skating before, and it was scary not being able to gain his footing properly.

"Wow, how do people go that fast?" Feliks wondered aloud as he watched other people whiz past them, going very fast.

"With lots of practice," Ivan answered.

"So if I practice then I can go that fast too?" Feliks asked.

"Da, of course." Ivan told him.

They only spent a half hour skating, because the kids were really tired from their long day. Arthur had also sneezed a couple of times, which had made them rush a bit bit more. After all, it was not the time for the little guy to get sick again.

Like all children, their kids each had their own health problems. With Arthur, it was colds and ear infections. He always seemed to get colds more often than the others, and more than fifty percent of the time he would develop an ear infection afterwards. Dr. Elizaveta had told them it was a common thing for young children though, so they weren't extremely worried.

With Francis, it was allergies. He was pretty allergic to both dogs and pollen, which meant that spring and summer always left him with itchy eyes and runny nose. Luckily they did have some medicine to help with that. He couldn't really get too close to dogs though, otherwise he would be sneezing like crazy. If he wasn't allergic, they would probably have a pet dog since Alfred loved them so much.

They hadn't had either Toris or Feliks long enough to discover all of their health stuff yet. Toris hadn't gotten sick since they'd had him though, so that was a good sign. He'd just had some injuries from his..old home. Nothing had been wrong with Feliks either, but the paperwork did mention that he was allergic to shellfish.

Anyways, they ended up leaving to avoid Arthur getting another cold. Besides, all of the kids looked exhausted. Oh well, at least they would sleep good tonight. Alfred had to laugh at how only being in the far for five minutes had put everyone besides him asleep, Ivan included.

Their family was great.

* * *

_December 24th, Christmas Eve. _

It was getting late in the evening. Soft holiday songs played in the background, and in the living room the whole family was together. All of the kids wore Christmas type pajamas. Arthur was in red fleece footie pajamas, Toris and Feliks wore matching green and red striped ones, and Francis had full green ones. Now as they were gathered in the living room, Ivan was reading The Night Before Christmas, something they always did on Christmas Eve.

Arthur was snuggled up in Alfred's arms, thumb in his mouth as he was on the verge of sleep. Francis and Feliks were both sitting near the tree, but close enough to listen. Toris sat next to Ivan, amazed by the wonderful images of the book. It just completely set the whole Christmas mood, as did the plate of cookies and glass of milk sitting next to the tree.

"...Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night. The end!" Ivan finally finished enthusiastically, closing the book shut. "I think now it's time for some certain children to head for their own beds, so Santa can come."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Alfred said, chuckling as he observed the sleepy kids. Arthur was now conked out, Toris was leaning against Ivan's arm, Francis kept blinking, and Feliks's head kept falling and then jerking back up.

"Alright, time for everyone to head upstairs for bed," Ivan instructed. "Here Toris, I'll carry you."

"Okay father..." Toris mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Ivan was speechless, but pulled his little boy into a hug. Finally, he was father to Toris now! This was something he had been waiting for, for a long time. Tears of happiness were threatening to spill from his eyes. Alfred watched the exchange with happiness of his own, and tears actually _had _escaped from his eyes. Darn it, Alfred thought, he was too emotional for his own good.

Once all the children were tucked in and fast asleep, Ivan and Alfred retreated to their own room. It was time to get all the presents ready now. In less than ten hours the kids could come running into the bedroom with their stockings, shouting about how Santa had come. This Christmas would be a really special one, Alfred was sure of it.

But that's another story.

**a/n: Well, that's the ending. First of all, sorry this took a few days. Second of all, sorry if the ending sucked. Third of all, thank you to all of you amazing reviewers! Fourth of all...um...lemme think..**

**Oh! So you guys seemed pretty keen with me writing more one-shots/stories centering around this family right? Cause if so, then keep checking my profile because soon Francis's story will be up. I'll do the other three's stories too, I've decided. **

**Also, if any of you have a one-shot requests centering around this family, please feel free to leave the request as a review or pm or something. **

**Thanks to everyone for reading/faving/following/reviewing and everything!**


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